A Not So Lonely Road
by dinochainsaw
Summary: After hearing how much his grandfather hated him, Lovino decided to run away from home. He was going to walk a lonely road, and he was okay with that. That is, until he met Antonio Carriedo.
1. Chapter 1

***A/N: This is my first story on . I have a couple stories on wattpad, and I finally decided to post my fanfictions on here. Rated because of Romano's mouth.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia. If I did, all my ships would be canon.**

The day I figured out I was the least favored twin was possibly the worst day of my life. I started my day with overhearing my grandfather (who I lived with)'s conversation about me with his friend.

"He looks nothing like me, he can't draw at all, and he can't even make pasta right! Why couldn't his parents just have his fratello, Feliciano? Speaking of his parents, they wouldn't have died if he'd been awake when the house was on fire. I swear, Feli would've gotten Ludwig to come save them all!"

"Don't you think you're being too harsh on him? He saw his parents' dead bodies right in front of him; he's scarred for life now!"

Of course, I was hurt by my grandfather's words. He just declared his hate for me, after all. But, if he wanted me gone, then I'd give him his wish. With tears welling up in my eyes (that I refused to let fall), I packed some clothes, my wallet, toiletries, and a blanket my parents made me(they made one for Feliciano as well). I placed my bag in my closet as soon as I was done packing, and walked to the kitchen to eat my breakfast. After listening to Feliciano talk about his date with Ludwig yesterday as we ate brioche and coffee, I returned to my room. I spent about an hour debating whether I should run away from home and have no shelter or stay in a home in which my guardian hates me. I decided that running away was a better option, as I didn't want to live in this house if my own grandfather didn't and never would love me?

A few hours later, I figured it was about time I got up and left. Just before I opened the front door, Feliciano exited his own room and noticed me holding my bag.

"Ve~Where are you going, Lovino?"

"I'm going to...my friend's house."

"I thought you said you didn't want to befriend the "teppista's" at our school?"

"I..changed my mind. Goodbye!"

I slammed the door behind me and dashed away from the house. I had to get very,very far away from there. I was pretty sure that Grandpa Roma wouldn't call the police, but if he did, I'd (hopefully) be far enough to not be found. But if I didn't get as far as I hoped, I'd simply hide somewhere. Perhaps I could get my classmate in Home Ec(that sucked at the class), Arthur, to hide me somewhere. We'd exchange simple pleasantries, so hopefully I was acquainted enough with him to have him do me a favor.

"Hey!" I could recognize that cheerful, spanish-accented voice anywhere.

It was none other than Antonio Carriedo of the infamous "Bad Touch Trio" of my high school.

"What are you doing walking around town?"

I ignored him.

"I'm on my way to the grocery store. Do you want to come along?"

I continued to ignore him.

"Lovi, do you want to-"

I couldn't help but snap at that stupid nickname.

"Who the hell is "Lovi!?" You better not be reffering to me with that dumb ass name, or I'm gonna-"

"Oh, look at the time! It's getting late. You should go home."

"Were you even listening to me, you stupid bas-"

"A cute boy like you shouldn't be roaming the streets alone."

"Who are you calling "cute?!" I'm not cute! And I can take care of my self!"

"...Are you running away from home?"

I didn't expect him to say _that_.

"H-how did you know?"

"Because I'm running away as well."

***So what do you think? Please review!**


	2. Chapter 2: Permanently?

***A/N: And I updated 2 days later. I'm not sure if chapter 3 will come out within the next week or two because of a _cetain_ disliked cousin I mentioned on my profile will be you to all those who favorited and followed. Special thanks to: NekoAmi1216, Quinn Fiberoptic, NOMNOMBUNNYWILLEATYOURSOUL(awesome name, btw) and Musical Nerd 29 for reviewing. You're all awesome! I'm actually not used to getting comments and reviews (I've been posting on Wattpad) and was overjoyed to see the reviews, follows, and favorites. By the way, this story was originally going to be an original story for Wattpad. Then I thought:"Maybe I should make it a SpaMano fic for fanfiction!" Anyways, thanks for reading! Please review!**

"You're running away?!"

"Yup. I got tired of living such a boring, typical life. Each day was the same, get up, eat breakfast, go to school, cause trouble with Gilbert and Francis-"

"That's all? You're just don't like living a normal life?"

"...The rest is a bit too personal and depressing to say. I'm sorry."

I could understand why he didn't want to speak about his reasons for running away. Some things were better left untold; kept in the darkest corner of your mind as you try to forget them. I wouldn't want this idiota to know that my only relative besides my brother/guardian hated my guts and blamed me for the death of my parents. Their death and being unloved were _my _scars, _my _memories that were shoved into the darkest corner of my mind, just like whatever his reason for running away was. How can bringing up what I want to forget aid the process of healing?

"Anyways, like I said a few minutes ago, I'm on my way to the grocery store. Wanna come?" Antonio's cheerful voice broke through my thoughts.

"Why would I want to be around an idiot like you?"

"You could've just walked or ran away from me if you didn't want to be around me, yet you stayed right here, walking alongside me."

I hated that stupid grin that emerged on his face as he said that.

"That's just the polite thing to do!"

"And since when have you wanted to be 'polite?' You've insulted me a bit in the past couple minutes we've been talking."

"I just...I don't want to-Dammit, fine. I'll come with you to the damn store. But do you have any money?"

"Of course! I've had a job at this spanish restaurant downtown ever since I was 16. I also stole some money from my 'rents before I left."

Our conversation ended there as we entered the store. I was greeted by the smell of fresh tomatoes that'd been carefully divided into different sections to our immediate left. A large variety of vegetables (and fruit if you want to be technical about the whole "Tomato:Vegetable or Fruit?" thing) were arranged by color, making the entire section look almost like a rainbow.

"Ah, tomatoes. Would you like to get some, Lovi?"

"Don't call me that stupid name!...And yes, I want some tomatoes."

Antonio nodded as he grabbed a plastic bag and stuffed a few tomatoes into it.

"Any other vegetables?" he paused, glancing at me to see me shake my head. "Well, let's head off to the grains section. I need some bread and-"

"Pasta! We need to get pasta." I'd only been out of the house for an hour and was already craving Feliciano's pasta.

"Of course." Antonio replied with a slight chuckle. "Then we should go ahead and check out and walk to the sport's store."

"Why the sport's store?"

"We need to get you a sleeping bag."

"What about you?"

"I already have one. I've been running away longer than you have; I've been living in this abandoned kid's tree house at the local park."

"A _kid's_ tree house? Pedo. Anyways,how are we suppposed to cook the pasta if we don't have a stove?"

"We can sneak into the italian restaurant across from the park and use their stove. I've been doing that since the day I ran away. And it's an abandoned tree house, apparently the kids got tired of playing in there. That's what a homeless man living on the bench told me."

"...Okay."

We walked to the grains and picked up the bread and pasta. After checking out, we walked for about 15 minutes to the Sport's store. The sleeping bags were in the far back, next to some coolers and tents. The check-out line was short (as it was the early evening), however, thanks to Antonio's flirtiness with the cashier, we were there for a couple extra minutes. Couldn't the bastard see I was hungry and wanted to hurry up and cook the pasta we'd bought? My stomach's constant growling should've alerted the teppista by now.

Antonio led me to the park, and helped me set up my sleeping bag in the tree house.

"Antonio, my boy! Can you help a man out and give me some food?" A man called.

" 'Course I can! Here's some chips!" he tossed a bag of chips out the treehouse's window. "Hope you like barbeque flavored-chips!"

"That's my favorite kind! Thank ya kindly, Antonio!" The man walked over to a bench, obviously enjoying his snack.

"That's the homeless man I mentioned earlier, Alfred Jones. He used to be my co-worker at the restaurant before he got laid off. Then, he couldn't pay his bills and...well, you can see how he turned out. But he's got a golden heart and childish personality despite what he's been through."

"I see." Before I could continue my reply, my stomach's growl cut me off.

"How about I go cook the pasta?" Antonio laughed. His stupid grin emerged again, but I was too hungry to insult him. It'd just waste time that could've been used on the pasta, so I just nodded as an answer.

* * *

About half an hour later, Antonio returned with our meals. The pasta was (surprisingly) good. Definitely not as good as Feliciano's, but still good. The food filled my stomach quickly, and I felt a heavy sleepiness coming over me. Just before I settled into my sleeping bag, Antonio asked me a question.

"Lovino. When you left your home, you understood and accepted that if you decide to permanently run away from home, you'll live a very lonely life, right?"

"...Yes, what about it?"

"Well, I thought that exact same thing, too. Then I saw you...and thought 'I don't want to be alone.' A lonely life is worse than living a boring life. So, I don't want you to have a lonely life, and I don't want to have one either. Would you..." he paused for a moment. "Want to be with me, run away with me, _permanently?_"

"You idiot." I felt my face heat up, turning as red as a tomato. That sounded like a freaking proposal!

"I'll take that as a yes."Antonio said as he settled into his own sleeping bag.

"I didn't say 'yes' you bas...Oh, screw it, you're asleep already." I muttered as I layed down inside my sleeping bag.

_'I really shouldn't want to say 'yes'...but I do.' _I thought as I fell asleep.

* * *

***A/N: So, what do you think? I'm going to introduce a few more characters in the next chapter. Also, I'm thinking about starting a little contest. Tell me you're favorite singer/band in the reviews. If I like you're favorite artist, I'll write you a oneshot of you're choice. It can be about practically anything, as long as it's not rated M. Let the contest begin! Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3: Hiding

***A/N: Hey! I'm back! Good news, my (hated) cousin couldn't visit! Thanks to Quinn Fiberoptic for wishing me luck with my cousin! In case you've forgotten, I am holding a contest, and the winner gets a oneshot of their choice(as long as it's not rated M)! All you have to do is tell me your favorite singer/band(/rapper if you like rap) in the reviews! If I like them enough, I'll pick you as the winner. The winner will be announced at the ending author's note of the next chapter. Now, onto the story!**

"Kirkland!"

"Yes, chief?"

"Can you go patrol section 7 of the city? Mathias called in sick."

"I'm on it, sir!"

* * *

My eyes slowly opened, greeted by the sight of the treehouse's ceiling. I glanced to my left, seeing Antonio's empty sleeping bag. On top of his bags was a wrinkly napkin that was written on with a pen.

_"Morning Lovi!" _Why the hell did he call me that stupid name?

_"I went to go warm up the leftover pasta for us and Alfred. Maybe you should go introduce yourself to him! He's a nice person. Okay, bye Lovi!"_

I muttered a few insults to Antonio as I grabbed my backpack. I pulled out my toiletries; a tooth brush, tooth paste, and mouthwash. I climbed down the treehouse's ladder and walked over to the water fountain, using it to brush my teeth and splash some water on my face. I looked around the park as I dried my face with the bottom half of my shirt. Alfred was awake already, smiling to himself as he watched the clouds. '_How can he seem so happy when he lives on a park bench?'_ Taking Antonio's suggestion, I walked over to Alfred and took a seat next to him on the bench.

"Um, Hi. I'm Lovino, Antonio's...person that he knows." I definitely didn't want that idiot to be considered my friend.

"Yo! I'm Alfred, the hero!" he cheerfully introduced himself. "That lives on a park bench." he added under his breath.

"So...you used to work with Antonio?"

"Yeah! He was an awesome co-worker."

"I see..." We sat in an uncomfortable silence, since neither of us knew what to say.

Fortunately, Antonio returned to the park, a tupperware full of pasta and 3 forks in his hands. He waved at us, motioning for us to come into the treehouse.

"Remember Joe?"

"Yeah, man! He was so clumsy, always breaking plates and glasses!"

The two men laughed as they reminisced about their days working together. I, obviously, had nothing to say on the matter, so I simply sat and listened to their conversation as I ate the pasta. '_For some reason, pasta always tastes better the next day.'_ An image of Feliciano's delicious pasta popped into my head, reminding me of home. I kinda missed hearing my brother rambling about whatever he did yesterday or a weird dream he had last night at breakfast.

"Crap! A policeman!"

"Lovino, go sit in that corner!" Antonio pointed to a corner of the tree house. "The policeman won't be able to see you if you sit there. If he sees us here, he'll make us return home, and we wouldn't want that, would we?"

I reluctantly did as Antonio told me.

"I'll go distract him while you guys go run to...that store across the street!" Alfred climbed down the treehouse's wooden ladder, calmly walking over to the police officer.

"Hiya! I'm Alfred, what's your name?"

"You can call me 'Officer Kirkland.' Now, why were you in that treehouse?"

"Hold on, you haven't told me your first name yet!"

"I prefer not to be called by my first name while I'm on duty."

"Well, I prefer to know the first name of the person I'm talking to!"

"...It's Arthur. Now, tell me why you were in a _children's _treehouse."

"It's nice to meet ya, Artie! And no one uses that treehouse anymore. You see, I'm homeless, and that treehouse is the closest thing to a shelter that I can get!"

"I see. However, I feel the need to inspect it."

"Uh...can't you wait a bit? Let's get to know each other!"

"There is no need to get to know each other. Now, if you'll excuse me..."

Arthur began to walk towards the treehouse. _'Dammit Alfred! Do something!'_

Desperate to stop Arthur from discovering his friends who'd run away from home, Alfred couldn't think of any other solution besides...

_A Kiss._

"What the he-" Arthur's sentence was cut off by Alfred's sudden action. Antonio glanced out the window, noticing Arthur's closed eyes. I grabbed my backpack and sleeping bag and followed Antonio down the treehouse's ladder. We ran across the street(luckily, no cars were passing by), entering a store named "Heta Mart," that was next to the italian restaurant. We leaned against a shelf full of books as we tried to catch our breath.

"Antonio?!" The cashier ran over to us, completely forgetting about the customer she was serving.

"Elizaveta! You work here?"

"Yup! Now, what are you guys doing here?"

"We need a place to hide for a bit."

"Follow me."

Elizaveta led us to the furniture section. She suggested we could just sit on the couches for the time being.

"Elivazeta! Come back to your register right now!"

"Well, see you later!" She began to run as fast as she possibly could back to her station, hoping her manager wouldn't yell at her _too _much for ignoring the line of customers she had to serve.

Silence filled the air, not a single thing being said. I've never seen Antonio so quiet; he was always so loud, cheerful, and...annoying. However, the awkward silence was a very brief one, ending with two men with heavy european accents speaking quite loudly to one another.

"Kesesese! That was awesome!"

"Hon hon hon, 'is may be the best prank we ever pulled!"

Antonio's eyes widened, quickly recognizing the voice.

"We need to go." he whispered with a very obvious sense of panic.

Grabbing my arm, he ran to the back of the store, leaning against the store's white walls. A large bookshelf stood right in front of us.

"This is kind of fun, yes?"

"You idiot! This isn't fun at all! You bas-" My yell was cut off by a _certain_ frenchman's voice.

"Did you hear that, Gil?"

The duo ran to the back of the store, greeted by the sight of their friend who they hadn't spoken to in a long time and a furious italian.

"What are you doing here, hiding behind a bookshelf? You looks so unawesome!"

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

"What the hell was that for, you bloody git!?"

"Uh..."

"Whatever, let me look inside the treehouse."

Arthur quickly glanced around the treehouse, seeing nothing in particular.

"There's nothing suspicious in there. Why didn't you want me to inspect it?"

"I...uh, wanted to talk to you longer! Yeah. Now let's get burgers!"

Alfred grabbed Arthur's hand, ignoring all protests coming from the latter.

_'Well, he's homeless. I might as well treat him to a burger.'_ Arthur thought.

* * *

***A/N: What did you think? Tell me in a review! Also, add your favorite singer/band/rapper in your review and have a chance to win a oneshot of your choice written by yours truly! That sounded like those contest commercials on TV. Anyways, my favorite band is...Linkin Park. I grew up listening to their music. I don't really have favorite singer. And my favorite rapper is Eminem. He's awesome! I purchased two Eminem shirts from Hot Topic a couple weeks ago. They're AWESOME! Like Prussia. Well, thanks for reading; please review?**


	4. Chapter 4: To make you happy!

***A/N: Hello! dinochainsaw has returned! I'd like to thank all those who favorited, followed, and reviewed. I love reading your reviews. And to respond to NekoAmi1216, I LOVE USUK, too. I also looked at the winner of the contest I've been holding's profile (I will announce who it is in the ending author's note of this chapter). But, if you want a hint and don't want to skip all the way to the bottom of the page to see who it is, they like FrUk. So sorry if you didn't like the USUK in the last chapter! Wait, you don't know if you're the winner (that is, if you haven't skipped to the bottom of the page). As always, thanks for reading, and please review!**

"What are you doing here, hiding behind a bookshelf? You look so unawesome!"

"I thought we 'ere your friends, Antonio! 'Ere have you been?"

"Yeah! How can you just abandon your awesome buddies!?"

The two men continued to lecture Antonio; questioning him, however, their yelling cut off any explanation or answer the spaniard could give. The sight was quite amusing, a self-proclaimed "awesome" albino and a frog who was most likely a rapist lecturing that tomato bastard. _'I wonder what it feels like to be such good friends...Or how it feels to have friends at all...'_

"I'm so sorry! I was out of town with my..." Antonio glanced at me, unsure of what to say next. Pausing for a moment, his eyes lit up when he figured out a finish to his sentence. "Boyfriend!" he cheerfully finished.

"What?!" Gilbert, Francis, and myself were extremely surprised at his words (but I was more embarassed than surprised).

Wrapping an arm around my shoulders, Antonio replied to our exclamation.

"Yup, he's my little tomato! Isn't he cute?"

There were 3 things that were wrong in those short, two sentences. 1.I'm not Antonio's boyfriend. I don't even want this bastard to be my friend! 2."My little tomato" is definitely the most stupid name I've ever heard. 3. I'm not cute. However, I was too shocked and to say anything. I couldn't think straight; the only thing my brain could process was the fact my face was heating up. _A lot._

"Well, he _is _as red as a tomato..."

"Kesesese! He's as red as my awesome eyes!"

"Shut up..." I could barely manage to whisper.

"In fact...we're about to go to a restaurant for our date! Goodbye guys!"

Antonio quickly gathered up our stuff and led me out of the store before those two could ask any more questions. We glanced at the park, seeing that Alfred and Arthur had left the park. Walking across the street and going back into treehouse, we placed our stuff back where they were before we had to leave our lame-excuse-for-a-shelter.

"WHAT THE HELL WAS THAT FOR? YOU STUPID TEPPISTA, CALLING ME YOUR BOYFRIEND! WHY THE HELL WOULD I WANT TO BE YOUR BOYFRIEND, I DON'T EVEN WANT TO BE YOUR FRIEND!" I yelled, finally coming to my senses. "IN FACT, I DON'T KNOW WHY I'M STILL HERE!"

Suddenly, Antonio's bright eyes lost all sense of happiness. Instead of looking sad or hurt, he had a (out of character) smug look on his face.

"You're here because you wouldn't be able to survive all alone. Where would you stay? How would you get food? What if the police found you? Exactly. You'd either end up dead or returned home if it weren't for me. That's why you're still here." He smirked, feeling victorious.

His normal, happy-go-lucky look returned to his face soon after.

"Sorry about that! I just wanted you to realize the truth. Anyways, my little tomato, we'll have to leave this treehouse. There should be a little town about two days away on foot. We can stay there for a bit." He paused. "Well, where should we go after that? Is there a place you've always wanted to go?"

"Um...I always wanted to go back to Italy...But that's a whole different continent, and it would cost a ton to get there!" I paused, thinking of a different place to visit. "Wait, 'my little tomato?' Don't call me by that stupid name!"

Antonio chuckled. "I stole a credit card from my parents. They're filthy rich, so they won't miss a couple thousand dollars." he grabbed my shoulders, looking me directly in the eyes. "I'd spend a _million_ dollars as long as it'd make you happy."

Before I could answer, a loud laugh rang in our ears.

"Hahahahaha! That was fun, Artie!" He glanced up at the treehouse. "See you later!"

The british police officer blushed, waving goodbye as he walked away from the park.

Alfred climbed up into the treehouse, a large grin spread across his face.

"I think I might have a boyfriend! We can go on a double date and-"

"That's great, Alfred! But, sadly, we won't be able to go on a double date with you guys."

"We aren't dating!" My protest went unheard.

"Why not?"

"Because me and Lovi are going to head out to that little town nearby. Last time I was there, they didn't have police patrolling everywhere. Plus, they have an airport so we can go to Italy, like Lovi wants to!"

"Oh. You have enough money to get there?!"

"I have this credit card I stole from my 'rents. I haven't used it yet because I still have enough money to buy food and other things. Plus, buying an apartment or house would cost _way _more than a airplane ride, since you have to pay a lot frequently."

"Ah. So, your heading out tomorrow?"

"Yeah. But we'll come back one day! Or maybe you'd like to come with us?"

I panicked a bit on the inside, hoping that Alfred wouldn't come along. _'Not that I want to be alone with that tomato bastard!'_

"Thanks, but no thanks!" A huge smile presented itself on Alfred's face. "I want to stay here with Artie!"

Antonio smiled as Alfred said that. Alfred left the tree house directly after he made that statement, singing some random, cheesy love song, replacing all the "her's" with "him's"; obviously he was thinking about Arthur. Antonio glanced at me, his smile growing wider immediately. I felt my face heat up once again. _'It's nice to know someone smile because of you...'_

* * *

The pasta that night was tastier than how it was that morning, proving my little theory that pasta gets better with time. I participated in the chat the three of us had that night, feeling like I belonged somewhere for once in my life. For once, I wasn't left out, overshadowed by my brother, or being talked to/being hanged out with because they wanted my money or to befriend Feliciano. I was finally with people who liked me for me. For the first time in a very long while, I felt happy.

* * *

***A/N: What did you think? Please review! Now, the winner of the contest is...Roxi2Star who said "Panic! at the disco." I LOVE Panic! at the disco. In fact, they're my obsession as of right now. My favorite song by them is "The Only Difference Between Martyrdom and Suicide is..." I will PM you right now, Roxi2Star. Tell me what you want your oneshot to be written about, and if you want a certain theme, tell me! Thank you all for participating and reading! Please review!**


	5. Chapter 5: A Gift from Above

***A/N: Hello! I'm back! By the way, a guest reviewed the story, saying that I originally said Arthur was Lovino's classmate in Home Ec. And now he's a police officer. Yeah, I _totally_ forgot I mentioned him in the first chapter. Sorry about that! Anyways, thanks for reading and please review!**

"Lovino! Lovi~! Wake up, little tomato!"

That bastard, waking me up by using a stupid name. I sluggishly rose from my position in the sleeping bag, rubbing my eyes and stretching out my legs.

"What the hell do you want?"

"We have to get up early so we can start walking to the next town! I went to buy some breakfast sandwiches from Heta Mart while you were asleep, so we can eat breakfast on the way!"

"Okay."

I rose to my feet, grabbing my bag of toiletries to go brush my teeth in the park's water fountain. I glanced at Alfred's bench, noticing all his stuff was gone. Obviously, everything he currently owned was packed into the backpack he had lying next to him. He was smiling to himself once again, however, his grin was quite wider than how it was yesterday.

"Lovi!" Antonio called for me out the treehouse window. "Are you ready to go?"

I nodded at him, drying my face with the bottom portion of my shirt since I'd just washed it. Taking a deep breath, I climbed back up into the treehouse and grabbed my sleeping bag and backpack. When I exited the shelter, Alfred and Antonio were saying their goodbyes.

"Well, this is it, Alfred. Are you sure you'll be okay living in this park?"

"Oh, I'm not staying _here._ I'm going to stay at Artie's!"

"You are? Then there's no need for me to worry, huh?"

"Nope! I'll be fine! Just take good care of Lovino and yourself."

"I will." Antonio glanced at me, seeing it was time to leave.

"Goodbye, Alfred."

"Bye!"

They smiled at each other before Antonio turned around and began walking away with me.

"We'll come back one day! This isn't the end!"

We exited the park, not a single conversation sparking among us. Antonio was busy looking at his surroundings; I assumed he was saying a mental goodbye to the city. His eyes held a gaze that cast a caring and sweet look upon the spaniard's face. Then again, he always had a caring and sweet look on his face. Antonio was simply a very likeable person, but he wasn't "normal" per se. There was this aura he had around him that made you feel attracted to him. He was the type of person that would naturally have many friends and admirers.

But _I _was the complete opposite.

I always wore a scowl, as if it was permanently marked onto my face. I had nothing going for me. As my grandfather put it, I can't draw, I can't cook, and I couldn't even...save my parents.

_That _moment, _that _night was forever burned into my memory. I awoke in the middle of the night, only to be greeted by fire. Somehow, I found a way out of my room. I ran to my parent's bedroom, hoping they were alive. I recieved my wish, but only for a few moments. I saw their faces, filled with pain, as they were swallowed by the fire.

_"MOM! DAD!"_

Soon, the inferno began to spread rapidly. I simply stood in the doorway, not making any attempt to evacuate. My parents died before my eyes. I couldn't even save them! If I weren't such a coward, I would've risked my life and pulled them out of the raging fire. This tragedy was caused by me. _'Perhaps it'd be better if I died as well."_ And so, I allowed the fire to consume me.

But it appears I even fail at dying.

I survived. Everyone around me, the doctors, Feliciano, called it a miracle. I, however, called it a curse. I was forced to walk this terribly lonely road known as "life." After that incident, it seemed as if I had no emotions. I was simply going through the motions. Why didn't I kill myself? Because I was a coward. Hearing my grandfather hated me was the last straw. If I couldn't die and be relieved of this struggle called "life," I might as well leave home. I was prepared for "a lonely road" as Antonio put it. Little did I know, the God I never believed in gave me a gift. That gift was known as Antonio. As much as I hate to admit it, that bastard brightens up my life; makes me look forward to tomorrow.

He made me feel happy.

"Lovino, are you okay?" Antonio's calm, yet concerned, voice brought me back to earth.

"Yeah, just...thinking."

"Oh. Well, you've been thinking for a long time! We'll stop for the day, or should I say "night", in about 15 minutes."

The word "night" made me notice the sky darkened and a few stars came out in the time I was having a flashback. Time really flew by.

"What were you thinking about?"

"None of your buisiness."

"Perhaps you'll tell me if I'll tell you why I ran away?"

That _was _an equal exchange.

"...Fine."

"We'll be able to comfort each other! It's better to release your emotions rather than bottle them up."

"Yeah, yeah..."

"Well, it all started when I..."

* * *

***A/N: You'll have to wait for the rest! Hope you liked it! Thanks for reading and please review!**


	6. Chapter 6: Tragic Events

***A/N:Hi guys! dinochainsaw is back with chapter 6 of A Not So Lonely Road, special features including Antonio's Past and a little paragraph from Antonio's point of view! I was thinking about adding another side pairing in here, so vote on the poll I've made! Whichever pairing gets the most votes will be the new side pairing in this story! PLEASE READ THE ENDING AUTHOR'S NOTE! As always, thanks for reading and please review! Also, have a happy labor day!**

"Well, it all started when I broke a vase. My father cherished that vase; his mother, who he loved dearly, had made that vase for him just before she died of a heart attack. He beat me as punishment. But, he _did_ have a good reason. The next time he beat me was after he came home, drunk from a night out with his friends at the local bar. He simply walked into the house, and began to beat me. She was didn't care enough about me to do anything about it...

Well, she _did _do something.

Drugs. After I ran away, I came back to, secretly, check on them after two weeks had passed. The first thing I saw was my dead mother's body, just lying in the middle of the floor. She'd died of an overdose, and my cruel father left her lifeless body in the house and left...That's it."

_'Who's story is worse? Is it better to be loved by your parents but feel like your responsible for their deaths, or having your parents hate you?'_

"What about you?"

"Huh? Oh yeah...My parents died in a fire at our house. I was there but...I was too much of a coward to save them. I saw them die." I paused, blinking away tears I never thought would surface. "I hoped to die in the fire as well after I saw them pass but, as you can see, I failed. I overheard my grandfather, my guardian, telling his friend he hated me. So, I decided to run away. The end."

He didn't reply verbally, but the look on his face spoke throughout the bitter silence. It was the same look I'd given him when he told me his story. It was more than a look of pity, it was more than sympathy that showed through our eyes. It was empathy. We understood how one another felt, both having tragedies happen to them. But, despite our pasts, he was more positive and outgoing than I was.

How can we both have these backgrounds, yet have such a different outlook on life?

"Romano."

Before I could ask him how he could be so...happy, he broke the silence.

"I'm glad you didn't die in the fire. It really is a miracle you survived!"

He spoke the exact same words Feliciano had. However, he tacked on a few more sentences.

"You're like a God-given gift to me! I'd be so alone running away if it weren't for you. I'm really, _really _glad I have you."

Feeling my face heat up, I opened my mouth to insult him, but stopped myself just before I could allow the words to spill out of my mouth. He was declaring his friendship to me.

For the first time, I didn't want to be rude to Antonio.

"Thank you."

The words felt so unfamilliar; I'd never thought I would _thank _Antonio.

"You're welco-Ah!" He held me in place by holding my shoulders.

"Hm?"

"You look so cute! The way the moonlight's hitting your tomato-red face..." He sighed, looking as if he were in heaven.

"Shut up, tomato bastard!" I shook his hands off my shoulders and began walking away.

"Lovi~ Wait for me!"

* * *

He really did look cute. Not that he didn't normally cute! Anyways, I led Lovino to a football field I remembered passing by a few times when I was little, when my father _wasn't _a crazy bastard. We'd play futbol, or soccer as the Americans over here would call it. My mother would pack us sandwiches as a snack and sit on the bleachers as she watched the two of us play. Such good memories...

Finally, we arrived at the field.

"We'll sleep on the bleachers, Lovi!"

"Hm." He grunted a yes in response as he began to spread out his sleeping bag on the first row. I did the same, making sure I was right next to him.

Lovi slid into his bag, closing his eyes. After a moment, they opened again.

"Why the hell are you so close!?"

I didn't answer, simply smiling at him before I settled into my own bag.

He didn't ask me again or yell at me. He just sighed and closed his eyes, quickly falling asleep.

He looked even cuter when he slept.

* * *

***A/N: This chapter is dedicated to all those who've been abused. I've written a sasunaru story on wattpad that was dedicated to abuse as well, because it really is sad that it's such a big problem. No one should be hurt, disrespected, etc. So, if you or someone you know is being abused, contact the national domestic violence hotline. And if _you _are being abused, remember whoever's abusing you may be able to check the history on your computer/laptop, so be sure to delete this chapter and the website for the hotline from you history. Thank you for reading and please review.**


	7. Chapter 7: Random USUK Chapter!

***A/N: Hey! dinochainsaw is back with the a super, epic, random USUK chapter of A Not So Lonely Road! Don't forget to vote for what side pairing you want to be in this fic on the poll I made! As always, thanks for reading and please review!**

"Alfred?"

"Yo! Artie!"

I waved at the british, blonde man in front of me. He had beautiful green eyes that held a gaze that could make _anyone_ swoon. His thick eyebrows are considered "weird" to most, but to me, they're a major plus! And as if his looks weren't enough, he had a great personality!

I really do love him.

But, I haven't told him yet. I mean, it's obvious I like him, but it's just _better_ to come out and confess it!...But are we even dating? Could dinner at a burger joint be considered a date?

Whatever! I love Arthur, and that's all that matters!

"Are you ready to head off to my place?"

"Yup! Everything's in my backpack!" I shaked the bag in my hand.

"_Everything_ you own is in that small bag?"

I nodded. "C'mon let's go!"

I was extremely excited to see what Artie's house looked like. I could already imagine the living room; union jacks painted across the walls, band posters(Arthur really struck me as a "punk" kind of guy), autographs from his favorite bands, a few red roses and hybrid flowers in a garden in his front yard...

I was completely wrong.

Arthur's house was plain, not a single wall painted or having a poster pinned onto them. He didn't even have a garden! I tried to hide the dissapointment in Arthur's house's interior design by bringing up something about his job.

"So...what's it like to be a police officer?" I asked as I followed him to the guest room.

"Going undercover and tracking down international criminals...that must be AWESOME!" I grinned.

"My job is _nothing_ like that. I just patrol the city..."

He must've noticed my distaste for his bland job that was clearly being displayed on my face.

"..er..But I do catch criminals." He stared at the carpet. "Once in a while." He whispered.

"Hm. Sounds cool!"

Artie took a seat on a desk chair as I unpacked my things. I only had a small bag of toiletries, a few changes of clothes, and about $5 worth of change scattered at the bottom of my backpack.

Once, I was finished unpacking (that only took less than 1 minute) the conversation continued.

"Hey, Arthur."

"Yes?"

"Are we dating?"

I didn't want to go through the trouble of reading into his simplest replies and studying his habits to judge whether he liked me or not. Why not just ask him?

"What do _you _think?"

"Uh...Well, I guess I can count that burger dinner as a date, but aren't _classier_ meals considered dates? We haven't even known each other for more than a week, so I can't really consider you my 'boyfriend.' Not that I don't like you just..." I continued to ramble, something I normally wouldn't do.

"Will you shut up for a moment?"

I glanced at Arthur (I'd been staring at the carpet, a nervous habit of mine. Even heroes can be nervous, huh?), who was about as red as one of Antonio's tomatoes. His right hand covered his face, trying to block his blush.

"I like you, too. And I'm just as confused as you are over our...status."

Like? He only liked me. He was more than 'interested' in me, but less than 'fascinated.' Maybe he was trying not to declare his undying love for me?

Okay, so that's a bit dramatic.

Perhaps, he wasn't hiding anything at all. I was just something he liked, similar to how he liked scones. He liked me, but couldn't live without me. I really shouldn't be making a big deal about this, I mean, I've only known this guy for a week!

How could I expect anything more than a like?

I probably don't even have an 'undying love' for him, either.

Then again, when I first laid eyes upon him, I felt something. A tingly feeling in my chest that made my heart beat faster; "Love at first sight." That's why I felt so strongly over his return of feelings for me.

I wanted him to love me.

Not simply like me, but love me.

"I don't like you, Arthur."

"What do you mean?" Was that a hint of panic that I heard in his voice?

"I love you."

And like most sappily romantic moments, I leaned in closer to him until my lips met his for the second time. Yet, this time there was more..feeling this time. I didn't have to listen for an answer to my confession. I could just _tell _loved me. It wasn't that we liked each other, we loved each other. We relished in each other's presence, smiled at the mere thought of one another, and would always put the other's needs first before our own.

That feeling and commitment, _that _was love.

* * *

***A/N: This is the shortest chapter of this story I've ever written. I'm sorry about this chapter's shortness and slight OOCness! I have a plan for this story, so don't worry! Also, because school's started (it started two weeks ago where I'm at), it's slightly harder to update. School is so tiring! I'm in 8th grade, by the way. Any other 8th graders or middle schoolers? As always, thanks for reading and please review (+vote on the poll I made!)!**


	8. Chapter 8: On the way

***Hey, dinochainsaw is back with chapter 8 of A Not So Lonely Road! Glad you enjoyed the USUK, SoulEaterEvansFan(Now I'm back writing about my OTP, Spamano) and NOMNOMBUNNYWILLEATYOURSOUL(my friend saw your username and started yelling it at all his friends. People started looking at him all weird** **O_O)! And HimekoUchia, I ****_totally_**** agree on your review about how Spamano takes more time! Also, the poll is now on my profile, make sure to go vote on it, my fellow Hetalians! As always, thanks for reading and please review!**

I felt warm, steady breaths on the back of my neck that woke me up. I turned around and found Antonio right next to me.

Right.

Next.

To.

_Me._

I was a bit more creeped out by the fact he invaded my personal space for God knows how long than flustered. A blush quickly rose up to my cheeks as I kicked the spaniard over and over again without any lack of persistence to wake him up. He fell off the bleachers, which seemed to be only thing that could wake the bastard up.

"Ow, Lovi!"

"Stupid bastard, so close to me..." I muttered as I began to roll up my sleeping bag.

"Sorry, little tomato! I just move around alot when I sleep."

I ignored all apologies and excuses he continued to make, not bothering to lecture him for giving me stupid names. Apparently, I attained a new nickname: "Toma." Toma was short for tomato, another lame and childish name I'd been given by him. However, in exchange for my stupid names, I gave _him _fitting names.

'Stupido,'maccabeo,' and 'sciocco.' Which would all translate into english as "idiot, fool, blockhead, etc."

Fitting names, yes?

"Here's a sandwich, toma!"

"...Thanks." The second time I ever thanked Antonio. I hoped not to thank him again, but with all the things he's giving me(food, a place to sleep even if it's for one night, and soon, a trip to Italy), I'd probably have to thank him numerous times.

We spent a couple minutes devouring our sandwiches and downing our bottles of water. We saved enough food and water for lunch and dinner that night, since we'd just pay for food and drinks on the plane. I couldn't wait to go to Italy. I hadn't been in Italy for _years._ I was born and raised there, living there until I was about 8 or 9. I learned to speak english just before we left. It wasn't until we were in America that the _tragedy _occured.

"Ready to go?"

I nodded, hoisting my backpack and sleeping bag onto my back. I followed Antonio out of the field and down the empty road.

"The town's not far from here. But, I doubt we'll be able to get on an airplane today. We'll have to stay somewhere..."

He trailed off; I assumed he was thinking of a place to sleep for the night. I never thought I'd be struggling to find a place to stay. I always had a roof over my head, and when that roof burned down, I would stay under another roof. Even if that roof belonged to someone who hates me...But shelter is shelter, huh? I can understand why Roma hated me. I _did _just watch my parents die. And to add to that, I didn't have any talents.

Yet, somehow, this guy who's helping me survive found something good in me that _I _couldn't even find, causing him to stick around me.

Or perhaps it's just _right _to help someone. That must be it.

We arrived in town a couple, seemingly-extremely-long hours later. Antonio spoke to me a bit throughout the walk about how "runaways have to stick together and help each other out" and a couple stories about when he was in his home country, Spain.

Apparently, Antonio grew up in a bilingual home. Both his parents spoke english and spanish, and taught him both languages at a very young age. As he grew up, he mixed up the two languages frequently. He'd speak "spanglish." Many kids his age couldn't understand him, causing him to be a loner for quite a few years until he learned the differences between each language. His dad didn't begin to beat him until they arrived in America when he was 12. That was when he began to experience the nonsensical violence.

During the time he was being abused, he managed to disguise the pain with his bright and vibrant personality that would only appear when he was away from his parents, like when he was at school.

Despite being a sciocco sometimes, Antonio was extremely emotionally strong. He never broke down and wallowed in self-pity like I have. And I knew if I ever felt like I needed to cry, I could just let the tears run. I _knew _someone would comfort me.

But what about when he needed to cry? He never had anyone to comfort him when he needed it all his life! I always had my fratello, but Antonio was an only child. And if his parents didn't love him, who did?

That must've toughened him up. That's what made him able to mask his past.

"Antonio, have you told any of your friends what...happened?"

"No. Just you!" He smiled.

"Why just me? Don't you have closer friends, like Gilbert and Francis?"

"You're closer to me than them."

"What do you mean?"

"Gil and Francis are rich. They're parents love them; everyone does."

"So? Everyone loves you."

"But they didn't have to earn that. People naturally are attracted to them."

"But I'm-" I quickly closed my mouth, knowing that sentence would come out wrong.

"Hm? What was that?"

"Just continue with what you were saying."

"Okay? So, I had to come to school with a fake smile on my face each day despite the beatings. They would already have their real smiles on their face, earning them many friends and admirers. They can't relate to me as much as you can. You understand how it feels to be alone."

"I see." Were the only words I could think of to reply with.

"Look! We can stay at this park! Brings back memories, eh?"

"We've been gone for a day."

"A day and a half!"

"Whatever."

Antonio began to run all over the park like a little kid, stopping at a park bench.

"Let's stay here, Lovi."

"There's only one bench!"

"And? We slept on the same bleacher!"

"I didn't want to sleep next to you!"

"Fine, I'll sleep on the ground, how's that sound?"

"Fine."

We set up our sleeping bags once again and began to mindlessly hold various conversations with one another. The subjects varied from tomatoes to academics to (ex)classmates. The banter filled the afternoon, along with a breaks for lunch and dinner. Soon, the sky darkened and stars became visible in the night sky. We called it a night and retired to our sleeping bags.

Feeling unable to fall asleep I stared up at the starry sky. I tried (and failed) to remember where the constellations were. Giving up on a review of astronomy, I glanced at Antonio. He was fast asleep.

For some reason, the look on Antonio's face relaxed me and caused me to fall asleep.

* * *

***A/N: On a completely random note, I have goldish-brownish-blonde highlights in my hair now! I have black hair. Anyways, thanks for reading and please review (+vote on the poll I made!)!**


	9. Chapter 9: Almost Home

***A/N:Hey! dinochainsaw here! And to kesesesesesesese: thank you for calling my story awesomesauce! Awesomesauce used to be my catchphrase until my friend stole it from me. Stupid catchphrase stealer...And being in 8th grade is awesomesauce,too! 8th Grade FTW! As always, thanks for reading and please review(+vote on the poll I made! The fate of these next couple chapters lies in your hands. Gosh, that sounds so...serious.) Also, I'm now on TUMBLR! My blog is dinochainsaw. tumblr. com (take out the spaces)! **

For the second time in this little journey, I was up before Antonio. He was in a deep sleep, hence his loud snores and constant tossing and turning. I swear, he hasn't moved that much in his sleep before! Anyways, I kicked and hit him to wake him up(however, I couldn't push him off of anything,as he was on the ground, to awaken him).

"Hey! Sciocco! Wake up!"

After a couple kicks and slaps, Antonio sluggishly rose from his sleeping bag.

"Huh? Oh, good morning, Toma!"

"Yeah yeah, 'morning. Now where's the sandwiches?"

If it wasn't obvious, I'm not a morning person. _Especially_ when I'm hungry.

"Awww! My little tomato is more focused on breakfast than me?" He tried to wrap his arms around me.

Of course, I pushed him away.

"Get away, stupido! Where's the stupid sandwiches?"

"Fine; Here's your breakfast." He reluctantly handed me a sandwich.

I muttered a thank you just before I stuffed a large piece of the sandwich into my mouth. I tried to eat as much as I could, because last time I was on a plane, the airplane food was pure crap. I'd have to get by on water and soda for the entire flight due to the horribly bland taste of _that_ slop.

After about half an hour, Antonio and I were rolling up our sleeping bags, throwing our empty water bottles in the recycle, etc. Basically, we were cleaning up our little "camp area." I could tell that stupid bastard was going to start singing the "clean up song" the moment he opened his mouth.

"Clean up! Clean up! Everybody, everywhere!"

He ignored my numerous "shut up"'s and other protests that were meant to tell him "I hate this song." It had such an annoying, happy tone. Maybe if he picked something less _stupid_ to sing, I'd actually _want_ him to sing. From what I could tell, he had a good voice.

Once we were done, we lifted our backpacks and sleeping bags onto our backs and headed out of the park. The airport was nearby, and hopefully, there would be a flight to Italy (or somewhere in Europe). Perhaps we could visit Spain once we got bored with Italy. But I don't think we'll get bored with Italy for a _very_ long while. It's _Italy_ for crying out loud!

"_Old pirates, yes, they rob I_!" Antonio began to sing. I guess my little thought about him singing had come true.

I expected a different song to come out of his mouth; something more poppy, maybe. Not that I didn't like Bob Marley. Nor did I dislike his voice. His beautiful tone of voice made a unique twist on the song. I could tell by the way he stressed certain words, such as "mental slavery" and "free," that he was channeling strong emotions through the song. Eventually, he spoke one of the lines of the song rather than singing it.

"Won't you help sing these songs of freedom?" He looked at me for a moment, waiting to hear me sing.

"_Cause all I ever had!"_ I began.

"_Redemption songs, redemption songs, redemptions songs!"_ We sang together. Our voices naturally harmonized together, as if they were meant to perform duets with each other.

"_These songs of freedom. Songs of freedom."_ After singing the entire song, we did a perfectly synchronized rallentando on the last line.

"Wow! You're really good at singing, Lovino!" For once, he didn't use one of my various stupid nicknames.

"Thanks."

Our duet ended about 15 minutes before we arrived at the airport. We were in a small town, thus the airport wasn't all that grand. We walked through the automatic door and stepped out of the way of those trying to get in. Antonio pointed to a little T.V on the wall that displayed airplane departure and arrival times on it's screen.

"Okay...we can get on the flight to England!" He suggested.

"So we have an hour to kill."

"It's not going to be filled with absolute silence and boredom, though..."

"Oh?"

* * *

If only we'd thought everything through. We spent most of the hour we had until departure trying to buy a ticket. The woman behind the counter insisted it was too late to get a seat, but somehow, Antonio's flirting paid off. After a few compliments, the lady looked as if she was about to give in. Yet, she persistently told us we couldn't buy a ticket this late.

"How about Lovi and I sing a song for you?"

"How's that gonna help, stupido?"

_"No woman no cry; no woman no cry!"_ Antonio ignored my question and began to sing another Bob Marley song.

Reluctantly, I joined in(only because I love Bob Marley's songs).

Together, we harmonized perfectly yet again. Antonio changed his tone of voice slightly, just enough to sound a bit more similar to Bob Marley. I almost attempted to do the same, however it would sound a bit too plain if I did. The way our tones clashed sounded better than I thought. We left out the little rallentando we sang on our last duet, trying to end on a happier note.

Once we finished, many people around us began to applaud us on our duet.

"That was...wonderful!" The woman exclaimed.

"I guess I could find a way to get you on the plane..."

Antonio and I simply smiled at her as Antonio handed her his parents' credit card. After a few moments, the lady gave us our tickets.

"Enjoy your trip!"

Glancing at the T.V, I noticed we didn't have much time to board the plane.

"C'mon!" I yelled at Antonio as I began to run towards the security check.

* * *

I fanned myself with the seat's shopping magazine. I went all-out trying to make it on the plane in time. Once I felt cooled down, I set the magazine back into it's pocket and closed my eyes. The plane started; it's engine created a soft, low sound I knew I could easily fall asleep to. I felt the plane lift up into the air, the take-off quite noticeable at first until we were flying smoothly in the sky.

Soon, after the next however many flights, I'd be back in my home country.

* * *

***A/N: I've been waiting to include Bob Marley's songs in here! Finally, I put them here. I don't own the songs: "Redemption Song" or "No Woman No Cry." They're really beautiful songs. As always, thanks for reading and please review (+ vote on the poll I put up! The fate of one of the next couple chapters is up to you!)!**


	10. Chapter 10: My Angel

***A/N: dinochainsaw's back with chapter 10 of A Not So Lonely Road! These chapters at the airport aren't really...SpaMano-ish. They're just there to explain what happened on the way to Italy. So I'm sorry if you guys don't like them! But most of you (HimekoUchia, NOMNOMBUNNYWILLEATYOURSOUL, and Torako-Chan; to be specific) seem to enjoy them! Thank you so much for reading and please review (+vote on the poll I made and check out my tumblr and dinochainsaw. tumblr. com take out the spaces!)**

"Hey, Toma." Antonio whispered in my ear as he nudged my arm with his elbow. Immediately, my eyes opened at the warmth of his breath tickling my ear.

"Huh? What do you want?" I was _slightly_ annoyed my little nap was interrupted.

"They're serving dinner. Ham sandwiches, turkey sandwiches, and bologna sandwiches with a 'dessert' of those mini-jam filled bread."

I glanced at the attendant serving the dinner trays. The food trays on the top of her cart, drinks in the middle, and napkins and utensils on the bottom row. I hate airplane food, but I briefly considered trying out the sandwiches. I quickly rejected the suggestion, seeing that the meal looked like crap. The attendant arrived at our two-seat row.

"Ham, turkey, or bologna?"

"I'm good." I answered.

"Can I just have that tomato?" Antonio pointed at a random tomato in a pile of other fruit(**A/N:Yes, it's a fruit!)**.

The attendant nodded and handed the tomato over to him.

"Gracias!"

She smiled as she began to move on to the row in front of us. Antonio opened his mouth, ready to eat the tomato. He paused for a moment, and glanced towards me.

"You want it?"

"No; I ate alot of sandwiches this morning."

"C'mon, you know you want the tomato!" He waved the juicy, red fruit in front of me. I insisted I wasn't hungry and that I didn't want the tomato.

"Say aah!"

I opened my mouth to say: "No, you bastard!" He seized the opporitunity to shove the tomato in my mouth, and did so. I attempted to make noises of protest, but remembered that there were other people on the plane, and some of them were trying to sleep. So reluctantly, I ate the tomato. He was right, I _did_ want to eat the tomato. However, I was still a bit full from eating the sandwiches earlier.

Eventually, I became full after eating a few bites of the fruit (that Antonio force-fed me). My eyelids began to become heavy, signalling my sleepiness. I began to lean towards Antonio's shoulder, moving closer to it until I completely lost conciousness and fell asleep on his shoulder.

* * *

Oh, how cute! He used my shoulder as a pillow! Anyways, I fell asleep about half an hour later and woke up to the pilot's voice on the intercom.

"We've just landed in London, England. Hope you enjoyed your flight on XXXXXXXXXal Airlines (**A/N: I have to take out the name. I couldn't come up with an original airline name)**!"

I lightly shook Lovino by the shoulders, waking him up. I grinned at the usual morning-rudeness and insults that were part of his adorable personality as I lifted my backpack and sleeping bag up onto my back. He did the same and followed me off the plane and into the airport. There were numerous coffee shops and restaurants that were packed with other passengers ready to get on their flight. I loved the scent of all the food and spices mixing together that tingled my nose.

I stopped at a breakfast shop and ordered an omelette for myself and a sandwich for Lovino (he really did like sandwiches!), along with two decaf coffees. I'm sure Lovino would have an even more poor and rude attitude if I were all jittery and hyper. And even though I love his "rudeness," I'd rather he not be upset with my behavior.

We enjoyed our little breakfast before we headed off to the waiting area for gate 7. Luckily, there was a flight from London to Venice that'd be departing in five hours. Sure, five hours was an extremely long time to wait for a plane, but at least we weren't as late as we were for the flight to London! I rushed over to the counter, flirted with the man that was selling tickets (my gaydar is pretty damn accurate), and bought our tickets!

A HELL OF A LONG FIVE HOURS LATER...

Finally, it was time for our plane to leave. Lovino nodded off while we were waiting, so I had to nudge and whisper to him to wake him up like I did on our previous flight. He wasn't as "rude" to me, only calling me a bastard once after waking up. We went through security, passed through the gate, and sat down in our seats. Unfortunately, this wasn't a two-seated-row airplane.

There were three seats.

I let Lovino take the window seat, leaving myself to sit in the middle between whoever would be sitting next to us and my little tomato. After a few minutes, a very feminine man took his seat right next to _me. _A brown haired man stood beside him, looking confused.

"Like, are you supposed to be there?"

"Huh?" I wasn't expecting him to talk to me.

"My,like, boyfriend is supposed to sit here with me."

"No, him and I" I pointed to Lovino,"are supposed to be here. Look at my ticket!" I held up my ticket.

"Then, like...where is he supposed to,like, sit?"

"Where's his ticket?"

The feminine man's boyfriend rummaged through his pockets, pulling out a small piece of paper.

"Seat...C15."

"Oh. So you're in front of us!" I pointed out. The brown haired man (dissapointedly) took his seat in the row in front of us. I glanced at Lovino, seeing that the little dispute hadn't woken him up. I took a moment to look over him while he was sleeping (I'm not that creepy...am I?). He still retained his adorableness when he slept, the only thing that'd changed about his appearance was this peaceful look that you'd think you'd never see on his face.

Now that I think about it, it made him look similar to an angel. A beautiful, sleeping angel.

An angel that belonged to _me._

* * *

***A/N: So...random PoLiet moment. Yeah. Anyways, I just want to say thanks for all the follows, favorites, and reviews this story has gotten! I'm thinking about starting another SpaMano fic; and I'll let you guys know when it's been posted! As always, thanks for reading and please review (+vote on the poll I made and check out my tumblr at: dinochainsaw. tumblr. com take out the spaces!)!**


	11. Chapter 11: Don't Act Like You Care!

***A/N: And this is where "it" all begins. This chapter isn't focused on Antonio, Romano, Alfred, Arthur, or the Bad Touch Trio (or duo, without Antonio). This chapter is focused on two people I've been putting off writing about, although they provide the key to this whole story. Without further ado, is the chapter that "starts" it all! Thanks for reading, and please review (+vote on the poll and follow me on tumblr at dinochainsaw. tumblr. com take out the spaces)!**

It'd been a while since he finally decided to leave. I always knew he'd leave; the look in his eyes since our parents died was unmistakeable. His gaze spoke a language only we could understand. Ever since the day he survived the fire, he held a look of despair in his eyes. He was never happy after that incident, only depressed. No one could make him smile, laugh, or even have the slightest bit of fun. Lovino was always this way, but he always let his walls come down once he got to know someone.

After that night, he never let anyone into his heart.

He didn't want anyone to befriend him or love him; it was his self-punishment for letting our parents die, as he put it. I still don't believe their deaths was his fault. If only I could go back in time, tell Lovino to go hang out with some random neighbor, and let our parent's death be my fault rather than his. I'm not as self-loathing as Lovino (even before the incident), so I wouldn't be as depressed as he is.

Whatever. There's no changing the past, so why sit back and wallow? Lovino's gone; perhaps he's dead, starving, alone...And I can't find him. I've called the police, and they claim they searched the whole city. Lovino was nowhere to be found.

And so, I began to pray every night until I began to doubt my own faith and the existence of God ever since he left. If God really loved me, why did he take everything away from me? My parents, Lovino...They're all gone now. And I know I can't change the past.

I should just put this all behind me and be the airhead I am, right?

Wrong. I can't just put this all behind me and forget my past. Anything that happens in this past will be forever marked into your life. If I waste a whole day sitting around in bed doing nothing, I will never get that day back. I'll never be able to change that I wasted a whole day sitting in bed. However, I can learn from my mistakes and learn to be more productive.

But in this situation, I can't learn from my mistakes. Once someone dies, they're gone. No matter what religion you believe in, they'll never come back(as the same person). I can't teach myself to tell Lovino: "Hey! You're the best brother ever so don't be so hard on yourself!" in the future. He's gone, I'm not sure where he went, but he's gone. I'll never be able to learn from my mistakes, now. Same thing with my parents. I'll never be able to fix my mistakes.

I'll have to carry on in life knowing that you can't learn from _all_ your mistakes.

"Feliciano!" My grandfather entered the house through the front door.

"Ve~ Grandpa!" I quickly returned to "normal."

"So...Did the police call? Did they find him?" He spoke so nonchalantly, like finding Lovino didn't matter.

And to him, it _didn't_ matter. And that's what pissed me off.

"Don't act like you care."

"What are you talking about, Feli?" He reached out to ruffle my hair. I pushed him away, and continued to speak.

"You don't care about finding Lovino. So don't act like you care! Act like the true bastard you are, at least you won't be so...fake!"

"Now now, we don't use that kind of language." He grinned, look as if this was all a game to him.

"Bastard, bastard, bastard, bastard!" I sounded like a little kid(well, more than usual). "You're a rotten, old man that I'm ashamed to be related to!" Have you ever felt so angry you felt like you could cry? That's exactly how I felt. Except I really was crying.

He looked me in the eyes, looking extremely annoyed.

"You think I'm a bastard? A rotten, old man? Fine then. That's exactly what your stupid fratello thought of me. If you hate me so much, why don't you just run away? Be an outcast like Lovino."

And that was the final straw. I wouldn't let anyone, not even my own grandfather, speak about Lovino like that.

I jumped on him, trying to punch him as hard as I could. I heard a noise of surprise, but besides that, I didn't hear or see any signs of pain. Well, I wasn't really paying attention to recieving a response from my "attack." I was too caught up in trying to take out all my anger on him. Eventually, I felt tired and I knew I couldn't fight much longer. Yet, I continued to tackle him.

I fought until the very end, literally (even if he wasn't actually fighting back).

I passed out. I didn't even know you could pass out from losing energy!

* * *

I woke up to Grandpa Roma sitting on a chair across from the couch I was laying down at.

"You're up."

There was a sad, depressed tone in his voice.

"Yeah." I paused. "I'm sorry, Grandpa, I was just angry because-"

"It's okay." He stared at me for a few minutes (that felt like a few hours).

"The school called. Apparently, your having a school trip to Venice."

"Oh." I knew he wasn't going to let me go as punishment.

"So I gave them my permission."

"Wait, what?"

"We both need a time-out. Besides, you'll be able to visit Italy!" He smiled at me.

"Grazie, Grandpa."

And for a moment, I felt an odd ray of hope. Perhaps I wouldn't be able to learn from my mistakes and save Lovino, but I _could_ live life to the fullest in honor of him. Because that's what he would've wanted.

* * *

***A/N: Yeah. If any of you have lost a loved one, live your life to the fullest. That's the one way you can honor the life they lived. Thanks for reading and please review (+vote on the poll I made and follow me on tumblr at dinochainsaw. tumblr. com take out the spaces)! I want to know, how many of you have a friend that you sometimes hate? Because I know I do. **


	12. Chapter 12: Sightseeing (Part 1)

***A/N: Hello, dinochainsaw here with chapter 12 of A Not So Lonely Road! To HimekoUchia: Thank you! I don't always write Feliciano; but when I do, I prefer him being stronger than usual (Does anyone get the reference?). Similar to how he is in HetaOni! I love Dark!Hetalia. To NOMNOMBUNNYWILLEATYOURSOUL: I like my characters with short tempers! That's why Lovino is my favorite character in Hetalia. As always, thanks for reading and please review (+plus vote on the poll I made and follow me on tumblr at dinochainsaw. tumblr. com take out the spaces)!**

"We've just landed in Venice, Italy. Thank you for choosing us, XXXXXXXXXXal Airlines! Arrivederci!"

I'd woken up an hour after we got on the plane. Antonio urged me to sleep, to get some rest. We'd be traveling all over Venice as soon as we arrived, he said. I yelled at him not to tell me what to do just before I pretended to fall asleep. After what seemed like an hour, I opened an eye. He'd fallen asleep. And so, I stayed up the rest of the flight. I watched a couple movies on the little T.V in front of me, played some games, and practically starved to death.

I still refused to eat the crappy airplane food.

Anyways, after the long flight, the pilot came on the intercom to announce our arrival in Italy. Finally, I was home.

And as far away from Grandpa Roma as I wanted to be.

"Wake up, bastard! We're here!" I didn't sound angry at him (for once), because I wasn't! I was simply happy to be home! A couple of women holding their children's hands glared at me for the "foul language." I mouthed a sorry and continued to poke and slap Antonio.

"Wake up, sciocco! We're here; we're here; we're here!" I sounded like the other children on the plane who were screaming "we're here" to their parents. After a couple more nudges and one, good punch, Antonio woke up. He stared at me for a moment, his eyes then drifting out the window. He noticed that we were on the ground.

"We're here!" I yelled, grinning like a mad man.

"I know, Toma." He ruffled my hair and hoisted his backpack onto his shoulder. I did the same and led Antonio off the plane. Well, I ran like the little kids who were so excited to have finally landed. I ignored all the stares and "what's wrong with that kid?" "I don't know; teenagers, man" I recieved.

* * *

"So, what else do you think we'll need?"

Ludwig stared at the two luggages sitting on his bed.

"Ve~ We'll need some slices of pizza, a bag of pasta..." Feliciano began to ramble on about the food they should bring, not noticing that Ludwig was ignoring him and grabbing extra memory cards for their cameras.

"Ja, Feliciano." Ludwig interrupted Feliciano's suddenly-turned-into-a-rant on how Americans "ruined" pizza. "Now, where are the batteries?"

"Batteries? Um..." Feliciano glanced around Ludwig's room. "I don't know!" He shrugged. Ludwig sighed at Feliciano's usual uselessness and began to search his desk drawers; still, the batteries hadn't turned up. Suddenly, just as Ludwig closed his final desk drawer, his bedroom door swung open.

"Kesesesese! The awesome me is here! Your lives just got better!"

"Ve~ Hi Gilbert!"

"Mein Gott, brother! Must you always barge in my room?"

"Only unawesome people knock! Now, what is my little bro packing for the trip?"

Gilbert threw open Ludwig's luggage, rummaging through the clothes and undergarments that were packed inside.

"There's nothing useful in here!"

"What do you mean 'there's nothing useful?'" Ludwig yelled, quite annoyed with his brother's boisterous behavior.

"I _mean,_ you don't have any condoms? How are you truly going to have fun without them?" Gilbert's grin widened.

"Out. Now!" Ludwig pushed his brother out the door, ignoring his protests.

"Luddy?"

Ludwig sighed at the childish nickname Feliciano gave him. "Yes?"

"What are condoms?"

* * *

Antonio and I took our first steps outside of the airport, breathing in the fresh air of Italy. People roamed the streets, greeting and telling each other about their day. I felt like I just landed in heaven, witnessing how the dead interacted with one another. Like when Bill and Ted went to heaven in Bill & Ted's Bogus Journey! Everyone seemed so friendly, greeting complete strangers! Back in America, you'd be lucky to _not_ get a slap in the face if you said a simple "hello" to someone you didn't know **(*A/N: Or at least that's what it's like where I live)**!

Antonio whistled at the passing taxis, none of them stopping for him.

"Hold on; let me try." I suggested. He nodded.

"Hey! Taxi! Vieni qui e ci danno un passaggio a- Where are we going?"

"Um...the Doge's Palace?" He seemed a bit shocked at my scream for a taxi.

"Thanks. Vieni qui e ci danno un passaggio a Palazzo Ducale!"

A taxi driver who happened to have his window rolled down stopped in front of us.

"Come trovi." He muttered in a monotone voice.

"Quindi, si sta andando a Palazzo Ducale?" He confirmed our destination.

"Si."

Antonio nudged me with his elbow, asking me for a translation.

"He just asked us if we were heading to Doge's Palace."

"Oh! You guys speak English?" The driver asked, surprised that Antonio had to ask for a translation.

"Yeah." I answered for Antonio.

"Sorry about that. I just assumed you both spoke Italian since _questo raggazo_ over here hollered at me in it." He said mockingly.

"Hey! Don't speak to me like that! We're paying you, so calm the fuck down!" How dare this stranger just refer to me as "this kid over here?" We don't even know each other, and he thinks he has the right to speak to me like I'm an ignorant little kid?

"Toma, stop." Antonio's tone of voice reminded me of my stupid grandfather lecturing me.

"Fine; I'm sorry." Of course, I didn't actually sound sorry; nor was I sorry.

"Toma? Pretty boy over here speaks Spanish?"

"Yup! Well, 'Toma' is short for 'Toma mi aliento lejos,' the way I'm using it, anyways. He, well, _toma mi aliento lejos_!" Antonio smiled.

"What does that mean?" Antonio ignored my question.

"I see. He is quite _hermoso._" I saw the driver smile.

"What does that mean?!" He ignored me once again.

"You don't need to worry your _hermoso_ little head about that, Toma." The driver emphasized my nickname, acting like he _wanted_ to get an infamous Lovino slap-in-the-face. Antonio can testify, it hurts like hell.

"He's just teasing, Lovino." Antonio gave me a reassuring smile.

"Ah. Looks like we're here." The driver announced.

"Thanks, Mr...?" Antonio asked, his hand resting on the taxi door's handle.

"You can call me Vasilica. Vasilica Lupei." He smiled. I swear, I saw a fang.

"Well, thank you Vasilica. Maybe we'll meet again."

"Yeah, maybe. You're from XXXXXXX, right? I just assumed from your accent. The schools over there are damn ghetto, huh? Every week there's a fight, and for the rest of the day the whole talk is about the girl who's weave got pulled out!" He laughed. Antonio nodded enthusiastically, completely understanding Vasilica's words. I, of course, had no enthusiasm whatsoever about what this guy's opinion (which was pretty acurrate) and did not respond.

"I remember when I lived there. Downtown was absolute _shit!_ The walls of the buildings have graffiti written all over them; 'Cameron was here.' Which dumb bastard is writing this on every one of those poor restaurants?"

"Si, it's so irritating!" Antonio laughed.

"Yeah..." His voice faded out. "Ever heard of a girl named Elizaveta Hedervary?"

"Actually, yes I do! We're in the same grade! How do you know her?"

"She's just..." Vasilica sighed and looked up towards the sky, deep in thought. "Someone I used to know. Anyways, where's my money?" He grinned, his fang appearing once again.

"Si, si; here's your fucking money. Can we go now?" I handed him the money and looked towards to Antonio.

"I guess. See you around, Vasilica!"

Antonio waved at him as he drove away.

* * *

***A/N: Did anyone recognize Romania? Anyways, I just realized I only typed up half of what this chapter was supposed to be. I was supposed to add Antonio and Lovino visiting Doge's Palace; I wasn't expecting the conversation with Vasilica to take that much of the chapter! As always, thanks for reading and please review (+vote on the poll for this story and follow me on tumblr at dinochainsaw. tumblr. com take out the spaces)! Also I have a new PruCan story: "Take Me To Your Best Friend's House!" Go check it out!**

_**Hermoso - Beautiful (spanish)**_

_**Vieni qui e ci danno un passaggio a Palazzo Ducale - Come here and give us a ride to the Ducal Palace. (Italian)**_

_**Questo ragazzo - This kid (Italian)**_

_**Quindi, si sta andando a Palazzo Ducale - So you're going to Ducal Palace. (Italian)**_

_**Toma/ Toma mi aliento lejos - **_**I'm not saying the actual translation. It'll spoil one of the later chapters.**


	13. Chapter 13: Sightseeing (Part 2)

***A/N: Yo! It's dinochainsaw, of course! Here is part two of sightseeing, in which Antonio and Lovino visit the Doge's Palace! Also, the translations in the last chapter were straight from Google Translate, so for any of you native Italian/Spanish speakers (Like Nemu Black Parade) I'm ****_very _****sorry about those screwed up translations! And to the people who googled what "toma mi aliento lejos" means(like Allers3), it's fine. It's more of a spoiler to just Lovino. As always, thanks for reading and please review (+vote on the poll I made/follow me on tumblr at dinochainsaw. tumblr. com take out the spaces)!**

Antonio watched Vasilica drive his taxi down the street. After he was out of sight, he turned around and looked up at the Doge's Palace. It's been _forever_ since I'd seen the beautiful building. The sound of ferries that were filled with jubilant tourists sloshed across the water. A mixture of Italian and English was being spoken, sprinkled with just a bit of Spanish. For a moment, I simply stood there gawking at the palace where the most important military leaders of Venice used to reside.

The memories of my childhood came flooding in, swimming and playing with Feliciano, sitting next to parents on the ferries, etc. I began to fall into a string of flashbacks, but was caught by Antonio calling my name.

"Lovino!" He waved his hand in front of my face. "You okay?"

I nodded and exhaled the breath I just realized I was holding. I followed Antonio into the palace. There was a man holding up a little sign that said: "Tours = 6.50 Euros/ $8.45 Dollars." Antonio pulled out his wallet, checking if he had enough for both of our admission tickets. Luckily, he had a $20 bill sitting in the back of the leather wallet. He walked over to the man holding the sign and handed him the dollar bill.

"For the both of you?" The man carried no European accent in his voice. From the way he appeared, I expected an Irish accent to pour out of his mouth.

"Yes." Antonio replied.

The man sat the sign down against a small desk (at a position so people could still see it) and handed the money to the woman sitting behind the large front desk. Afterwards, he picked up the sign and waved it at the visitors entering the palace. We leaned against the front desk, waiting for the rest of the tourists looking for a tour.

After a mere handful of minutes, the man had gathered up 25 people. He flipped the sign over and placed it flatly on the top of the small desk. He smiled at the whole group and introduced himself.

"Hello! My name is Ethan and I'm from Fort Hood, Texas! Attended Clear Creek Elementary on base, Live Oak Ridge Middle School in Killeen, then Shoemaker High School which was in Killeen as well. I went to the Texas A&M near the airport until I recieved my Bachelor's degree in Criminology. Then I moved to Los Angeles to go to U.C.L.A!"

"I don't recall asking for your life story." I whispered to myself.

"Hey, be nice, Lovino." Antonio scolded.

Ethan didn't hear my little comment and continued on with his introduction. "Of course, I was still studying Criminology. I wanted to be a detective. My wonderful husband-" He paused and ran a hand through his bright red hair. He cleared his throat and continued. "Or, 'boyfriend' according to most states in America. Anyways, he wanted to go to Italy. As soon as I laid my eyes on this wonderful palace, I just _had_ to work here." His smile returned to his face.

"Anyways, enough about me and more about this beautiful palace!" **(*****A/N: Skip the next paragraph if you honestly don't give a crap about history.)** Ethan took a deep breath and began to tell us about the palace. "Now, the 'Doge' was the chief magistrate and leader of Venice for many, _many_ years. The first Doge was instituted in Venice in the year 700 A.D. The last doge was Ludovico Manin. He ruled in 1797! Shortly afterwards, Venice would become a republic once again. However, it never continued the dogal style."

He motioned for us to follow him. We walked outside, near the water entrance of the building. Ethan pointed to an area of the building. "This is the Doge's apartments. As you can see, they're located between this water entrance-the Rio della Canoncia- and the apse of the St. Mark's Basilica. A fire consumed this _entire area _in 1483. Imagine, your simply relaxing in this tour and suddenly a fire breaks out! There's an inferno all around you-" I winced at the mention of fire and tried to block out the rest of his very detailed description of being in a fire.

His summary of the emotions you feel in a fire was very accurate. I can testify to that much. I shut my eyes (more) and placed my hands over my ears. Suddenly, Antonio placed his hands over my own and moved them away from my ears. He intertwined his right hand's fingers with my left hand's.

"It's all over. There is no fire to take anyone away from you anymore." He whispered in my ear. "I'll be here no matter what."

I tried to fight the blush rising to my face and pretended Antonio wasn't there, standing right next to me, holding my hand, letting his warm breath tickle my ear...

"Anyways, back to the apartments! Sorry for depressing everyone with my nonsense about..." Ethan's apology trailed off. A slight smile(one that appeared bitter, not happy) formed on his lips as he continued. "Fire." He sighed and allowed a full grin to appear on his face. "Now, the Scarlet Chamber is rumored to have taken it's name from the color robes the Doge's wore. Which were scarlet, obviously. Next, the 'Scudo' room. It's name comes from coat-of-arms of the reigning Doge of the year-"

His words began to fade out in my mind. Eventually, I couldn't hear him. All I could hear was the pace of my heartbeat quickening at the thought of Antonio being so close to me. Part of me wanted to pull away from him, but a larger piece of my mind ached to collapse into his arms. I just wanted to embrace him and bear-hug him like a certain American would to a certain Englishman. Antonio radiated such warmth, a warmth I could only find him.

I swear, I'm getting addicted to him.

* * *

"Thank you all for coming to the tour!" Ethan waved at us as we exited the palace.

"That guy was kind of annoying, huh?" I tried to spark a conversation with Antonio.

"I guess. I didn't expect him to have a husband." Antonio smiled at the word 'husband.' "Or boyfriend." He added.

"That's fucked up." I ignored the fact children were there as well. "He's married. That's it! He goes to Iowa and he's married. Yet, he goes back home to Texas and his husband's no longer considered, legally, his husband. His husband is reduced to a boyfriend. They don't have any rights as a married couple; and don't even get me started on how those damned, ignorant people shun them!" I tried to not yell, but failed miserably.

"Calm down, Lovi." Antonio gave my hand (which I just realized he was still holding) a reassuring squeeze. "It is hypocritical that people say they're so accepting and loving, yet they won't allow gay marriage. But just hold on, Toma. One day, people will accept us."

"_Us_? I never said I was gay." I retorted. "I just support the idea that marriage is a human right."

"Oh, don't lie, Lovi!" He used his other hand to ruffle my hair. "Haven't I told you? My gaydar is pretty damn accurate!" He laughed.

A very weak "hm" that was meant to be a growl was all I could say as a reply.

"And it's not just my accurate gaydar that proves it. You never once pulled away from my hand. Now, either you're pretending I'm your father and your a little kid again or you're falling for me." He smiled. "I'm pretty sure it's the latter."

"Shut up, bastard!"

I pushed him away from me and stormed off in a random direction. I'm not quite sure where I was going, only that I ended up in a little park. Parks are apparently safehouses for me, ever since that fateful meeting with Antonio. I took a seat on one of the benches and gazed at the sky that was starting to reveal bits of orange and pink. Only an hour or two until it was late afteroon.

"You waiting for me to find you?" That stupid bastard's voice rang in my ears.

I ignored him and pulled out my sleeping bag and layed my backpack against the bench. I continued the process of pretending I was alone and that a certain _sciocco_ wasn't standing there. After I completely set up my little camp-site, I slid into the sleeping bag and closed my eyes. I could hear the rustling of Antonio rolling out his own sleeping bag against the ground as I fell asleep.

* * *

_"It's okay, Lovi. I think I'm falling for you, too." These were the sweet words that came from Antonio's mouth just a moment too late. Lovino was already fast asleep._

* * *

***A/N: That's it for this chapter! As always, thanks for reading and please review (+vote on the poll I made and follow me on tumblr at dinochainsaw. tumblr. com take out the spaces)!**


	14. Chapter 14: A Class Trip!

***A/N: Hi, it's dinochainsaw with chapter 14 of A Not So Lonely Road! In this chapter, the new side pairing will be making their first appearance! I'm sorry if you don't ship them. Just skip over their appearance if that's the case. Also, I'm going to start personally replying to your reviews! I already replied to everyone's reviews last chapter. As always, thanks for reading and please review (and follow me on tumblr at dinochainsaw. tumblr. com take out the spaces)!**

"Ve~ I'm so excited!" Feliciano turned his head to look at Ludwig. "Aren't you excited, Luddy?"

"Ja. I'm very excited." Ludwig replied(in a not so excited voice).

Ms. Brewster's entire 1st period class roamed around the airport, talking amongst themselves. Even Kiku, one of her shyest students, was speaking to a handful of his classmates about the places he'd like to visit in Venice. Francis was too busy chasing pretty women and handsome men to notice Gilbert make his way towards the practically invisible Canadian who was sitting all alone.

"Hello, Matthew." Gilbert took a seat next to him.

"I was hoping you wouldn't leave me here all alone." Matthew smiled at the Prussian, who grinned back.

"I couldn't leave my little birdie all alone!" Gilbert snaked an arm around his boyfriend's waist, pulling him closer.

"So what do you want to do when we get to Venice?"

"Ah! I don't really care about sightseeing and all that stuff." He let his gaze drift off to the ceiling. "I just want to have fun and go out drinking!"

"Gil, you're underage." Matthew scolded in a stern voice. "Besides, you ignored the law last time and drank too much and passed out on the sidewalk! Francis, Antonio, and I had to drag you into the car and convince the policeman that pulled us over you were of legal age!"

"Good times..." Gilbert sighed dreamily. Matthew elbowed him in the stomach in response.

* * *

Herakles and Roderich were currently pulling Francis away from a frightened group of women he was hitting on.

"We can all have fun, yes?" Francis yelled as the two men dragged him away. As a result of the string of vulgar descriptions he was beginning to spew, Roderich slapped a hand over Francis' mouth.

"Shut up, Francis." Herakles spoke in his usual nonchalant tone. Roderich nodded in favor of his statement.

Elizaveta noticed the scene and began to chase after them, a phone in hand a grin that was growing larger by the second. She muttered words/phrases such as "OT3" and "my followers are going to love this!"

"Roderich! Herakles!" She yelled just before she caught up to them. "Can you guys put on these wigs I have?" She abruptly pulled cosplay wigs out of her purse.

"Ooh! And I have some circle lens contacts, as well." She began to take said contacts out of her purse as she sloppily placed the wigs atop Herakles and Roderich's head.

Although the two men were quite confused with Elizaveta's behavior, they allowed her to place the contacts in their eyes. Francis was still caught in their grips, just as confused as they were. After he took a glance at the color and style of the wigs, along with the contacts, he understood exactly what Elizaveta was trying to do.

"Good! Francis already looks kind of like him..." She muttered to herself. She turned on her camera and snapped a photo of the three men, Francis with Roderich's hand over his mouth as Herakles and Roderich had one of their arms wrapped around him. They were still in the postion they'd been in when they were dragging Francis away from the still-horrified group of girls.

"Wonderful!" She began to rapidly tap her fingers against her iPhone's screen, posting the picture on tumblr.

"Hashtag, ApolloxKlavierxPhoenix!" She was too occupied with typing her post to notice the stares she was recieving for her bizzare actions. "Haha, bitches! Bet you haven't seen this done before!"

Herakles and Roderich released their grips on Francis and walked away, acting as if that _didn't_ just happen. Francis shrugged, understanding that Elizaveta was simply trying to contribute to the Ace Attorney fandom.

* * *

Ivan sat in one of the waiting chairs for his gate, trying to ignore his younger sister clinging to his arm. Katyusha, his older sister, smiled at what she thought was a sibling-bonding scene. Natalia noticed her smile and immediately thought she was smirking because of Ivan's "beautiful" face.

"Mine!" She yelled, hugging Ivan and slightly tugging on his scarf.

"I'm sorry!" Katyusha immediately apologized for interrupting their bonding. Or at least, that's what she thinks she did wrong.

Yao sat a few seats away from the Russian family, holding his Hello Kitty stuffed animal in his silk clad arms. To him, Hello Kitty was simply the _cutest_ thing ever. However, Matthew begged to differ. In the rare moments Yao noticed Matthew's presence, they'd argue over which was cuter: Hello Kitty or Kumakichi(if that was it's name), Matthew's stuffed teddy bear. Usually the two found a neutral ground to agree on.

Or Gilbert would break up the arguement.

* * *

"Okay folks, it's time for our flight!" Ms. Brewster announced.

Her class cheered as they got out of their seats and practically ran inside the airplane out of sheer excitement. The rows had three seats per row, leaving the group of students to argue (or not in Roderich, Kiku, and Herakles' case) over who'd get each seat. In the end, Ivan won himself a window seat through intimidating others. Of course, Natalia and Katyusha sat in the same row. Everyone was seated next to their friends, just like they would be in the cafeteria or in class.

"Well, I hope no one sits next to us." Gilbert said as soon as he sat in the middle seat.

"Gilbert, this plane isn't reserved for our class." Matthew reminded him as he gazed out the window to his right.

"I still hope no one sits next to us." Gilbert answered. As if on cue, a girl with her hair in a bun sat right next to them.

"Speak of the devil." Gilbert whispered to himself.

* * *

The plane was already high into the sky, but it was still early into the flight. The girl sitting to Gilbert's right looked a bit anxious, as if she was anticipating something important to happen. After 3 minutes of fiddling with her orange stone/bead necklace, the pilot came onto the intercom announcing that passengers were now able to use their electronic devices.

"It's about time." She muttered, quickly pulling out her phone.

Gilbert noticed her opening the "notes" app on her iPhone. She immediately began typing a story about a bizzare detective with the name of "L" and his extremely romantic relationship with a teenager named "Light."

"I don't mean to be nosy, but..What are you writing?" Gilbert honestly didn't mean to be nosy, he only asked the question out of mere curiosity.

"Fanfiction." She quickly replied without looking up from her phone. "Fluffy shonen-ai. But you don't know what that is, huh?"

Gilbert shook his head "no."

"Thought so."

* * *

Finally, the plane landed. The pilot came onto the intercom for the final time, wishing a good day to all those on board. The students in Ms. Brewster's class listened to her brief explanation of the rules. Gilbert, as usual, paid no attention. Suddenly, a human-like yet robotic sounding voice bursted out of the fanfiction writer's phone. The words were all in Japanese, but gave a nice overall "cutesy" tone to the song.

"Sorry!" She apologized to Ms. Brewster and quickly answered her phone.

"What the hell do you want, Ethan? Yes, I'm in Venice now. Doge's Palace? You work at the _Doge's Palace_? But you always hated History in high school!" She laughed as she walked off of the plane.

"Now, class, do you promise to not act like complete idiots and embarass me while we're here?" Ms. Brewster ignored the interruption.

The entire class nodded in response, however some of the students' grins simply grew wider.

"Be at the entrance of this airport in an hour. You're dismissed."

Immediately all the students dashed out of the airport like crazed lunatics. Gilbert simply powerwalked, holding Matthew's hand so he would keep up as well. Ms. Brewster pinched her nose bridge in an attempt to prepare herself for the stress her class was sure to bring.

"What happened to don't act like complete idiots?"

* * *

***A/N: My friend told me they'd give me the dollar bill she found on the ground at the mall if I made a guest appearance in this story. I'll do practically anything for money (get your mind out of the gutter!). My other friend gave me a single quarter for running around the all-region choir audition waiting room telling strangers "I no speak Americano!" Embarassing, but hey, it bought me a cookie they were selling at the snack table. As always, thanks for reading and please review (+follow me on tumblr at dinochainsaw. tumblr. com take out the spaces)!**


	15. Chapter 15:The Zattere

***A/N: Hello my lovely chainsaws! That's my new nickname for you guys. I thought of it while I was replying to your reviews. Also, in case it wasn't obvious, I won't be showing up again in this story. I don't really like when authors include themsleves in stories (like when their character appears frequently), but I really wanted that dollar bill. Also, I will be putting up a Halloween-themed Hetalia fic on Halloween! So make sure you read it! As always ,my lovely chainsaws, thanks for reading and please review!**

_"Row, row, row your boat..."_

_My head rested on someone's lap as a man rowed the gondola across the water. I could feel a hand, that belonged to whoever's lap I laid my head down on, run through my hair. _

_"Gently down the stream..."_

_Their hand continued to stroke locks of my hair as they sung the nursery rhyme._

_"Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily..."_

_I could practically hear the smile in their voice. I finally recognized the tone, how it had once clashed against my own singing voice. Their name was on the tip of my tounge; Why couldn't I remember their name? I quickly glanced up at them, meeting their familliar green eyes for a single second._

_"Life is but a dream."_

* * *

"Hey! Lovi~" The damn Spaniard woke me up from my oddly heavenly dream.

"What the hell do you want?" I lightly kicked his thigh, making him take a couple steps back.

"You were singing in your sleep." He stated with a wide smirk. "Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily..."

Antonio leaned a bit closer to my face, only an inch away from me. "Life is but a dream."

"Shut up! At least I don't snore like a damn pig when I'm asleep."

"Well, _your_ not exactly the perfect sleeper."

Despite the venom in the insults I threw at Antonio (and the rare ones he countered with), a large grin was prominent on both of our faces. It was beginning to become a normal thing between us. Usually, Antonio was so kind, loving, and friendly. Knowing that I was seeing another side of him only a few people have seen was quite pleasing. It was nice to know Antonio wasn't always as "perfect" as a Saint. Somewhere, deep, deep down in his soul, he's just like me.

Just without all the profanity I'm prone to using.

Antonio and I rolled up our sleeping bags and walked down a random road. "Eventually," Antonio said, "We'll find a store!" He backed up his statement with the infamous "Infinite Monkey Theorem." Or most commonly known as that classic saying: "If a monkey is put in front of a typewriter and begins to hit random keys, it will eventually write Shakespeare." So, according to Antonio, if we keep walking down the same road, we'll find a market. Sadly, we'd been walking for God knows how long and still hadn't found a place to purchase some food to ease our hungering bellies.

"Oh? What was that? That was the sound of my stomach growling at you because you made us walk down this street and now we're lost!" I spat.

"Well, if you're so smart, where's the nearest store? Didn't you grow up here?" His voice began to rise, angered at my outburst.

"I don't know! I haven't been here in years!"

Antonio didn't reply to my shout, creating a silence between us. We weren't angry at each other's yells, we were just cranky because we'd just waken up and hadn't eaten. Or in my case, I was more cranky than usual. Also, it's not like we had nothing to say to each other, we just knew it was best to hold our tounges. If either of us uttered a word, the other would yell and thus a huge arguement would occur.

About an hour later, we found a large, crowded street. Numerous people flooded the street, carrying shopping bags and take-out from restaurants. The smell of fresh herbs and baked bread was extremely appealing to our starved stomachs. Antonio began to walk towards one of the many restaurants before I pulled him back a few steps.

"I recognize this place. We're in the Dorsoduro district. There was some popular street nearby..." I trailed off, trying to remember the famous street's name.

"The Zattere, right? I had to do a project about it in middle school."

"Si! The Zattere!"

Without another word, Antonio grabbed my hand and began to push through the crowd of people. We ran(as fast as we could with the large crowd around us) down the street and took a sharp turn to our right. In a matter of minutes, we arrived at the Zattere.

"Did that really require you having to run down the street like a maniac?"

"Of course it did!" His grin only grew wider as he spoke. "I heard the Zattere is a r-" _'Romantic.'_ My mind automatically finished his sentence for him, however I didn't speak my thought out loud. My thought caused my heart to race and a blush to rise up to my cheeks in a sheer second. The simple idea of Antonio wanting to bring me somewhere romantic was so-

"Ridiculously wonderful place for food!"

The ending of his sentence caused my heart to sink.

"Oh. Yeah, it does have a lot of restaurants."

A bit dissapointed in what Antonio said, I mentally lectured myself for getting my hopes up. Besides, why would I even hope that the dumb bastard would take me somewhere because it's romantic? It's a silly idea. Antonio and I entered the first restaurant we saw. We were greeted by the sound of a piano playing the classic "Fur Elise." A waiter ushered us to our seats, asking what we wanted to order. I ordered a slice of pizza, as did Antonio.

About 30 minutes later, the waiter returned with our pizza slices. I couldn't resist smiling at the sight and smell of the fresh pizza. After all, it'd been _forever_ since I ate authentic Italian food in Italy itself. With the first bite, Antonio and I attained a wide smirk on our faces that was caused by the delicious food. As much as we wanted to savor it's wonderful flavor, we scarfed it down like wolves. With a contented sigh, we wiped our hands on the napkins sitting on the table. After taking a nice, long swig of the ice cold water, we returned outside.

The sun was already setting, casting a nice glow over the shining waters. For a moment, we simply stood there, mentally taking a picture of the beautiful scene. A wave of relaxation washed over me, just like the waves crashed against the shore in front of us. I glanced to my right and saw equally beautiful churches and monuments. I pulled on Antonio's shirt to get his attention.

"Let's go that way." I pointed towards the group of buildings lined up against each other.

Antonio nodded as we began to stroll down the Zattere. The people passing by saw us, each of them with smiles on their faces. How could you _not_ smile at what may be the most beautiful sight on planet Earth? I could tell why the Zattere was known to be one of the most romantic places in Italy. The thought of walking down the beautiful promenade was so...lovely. Even if you're alone walking along the dock.

"Antonio." His name just rolled off my tounge spontaneously. For a moment, I lost all sense of pride and dignity.

"Yes, Lovi?" He happily asked.

"I think..." My normally secretive and spiteful state of mind changed into a light-hearted one. "I think I'm in lo-"

"Lovino! Is that really you?"

A familliar, happy-toned voice I thought I'd never hear again interrupted me.

"Feliciano?!"

* * *

***A/N: And there you go! That's the end of chapter 15! If you didn't know, I research alot of the stuff about Italy in this story. I also used a map of Venice to see if you could actually take one road down from a random road near near the Doge's Palace to the Zattere. There's obviously no street that goes straight there, but with a combination of turns, you can get there. I've never been to Italy, so I hope this is all accurate. As always, my lovely chainsaws, thanks for reading and please review(+ follow me on tumblr at dinochainsaw. tumblr. com take out the spaces)!**


	16. Chapter 16: Reunion

***A/N: Hello my lovely chainsaws! How was your Halloween? Speaking of Halloween, I posted a Halloween-themed fic on Halloween like I said I would. Did you know I LOVE AuHun? I like AuSwiss, too, but AuHun is just...one of those few Heterosexual ships I ship. Like FranceXSeychelles. As always, thanks for reading and please review!**

"Feliciano?!"

"Fratello! It really is you!" Feliciano ran as fast as his legs could carry him(which is pretty damn fast) so he could bear hug me. "What are you doing in Italy? _Mio Dio,_ do you know how long I've been looking for you? Oh, Lovino..." Feliciano suddenly began to cry, which earned him an awkward pat on the back from me.

"I'm sorry, Feli. I just..." I glanced at Antonio, who's eyes were widened at the bizzare scene. "I ran away."

"Why? Do you know how I felt? Why didn't you tell me? I thought you were dead, Lovino..." Feliciano sobbed even harder, his tears wetting my shoulder. "I'm not sure whether I should be happy or angry at you."

"I'm so sorry for leaving you. I ran away because.." I paused and had a quick flashback to when Grandpa told his friend how much he hated my guts. Was that really worth causing Feliciano to cry? Was it worth the police scanning the whole city for my presence? I doubt it. But then my eyes darted up to meet Antonio's. Remembering what I was about to say to him a few minutes ago, my face turned beet red. Trying to ignore the red dusting my cheeks, I slowly moved Feliciano off of my chest.

"Because Grandpa hates me."

"And you think I don't know that, Lovi?" Feliciano had a bitter smile on his tear-stricken face. "He didn't help me look for you. He never cared." For some reason, I didn't feel the urge to cry this time. Perhaps I hardened over the short time I'd been away from home, or I didn't care that Grandpa hated me anymore.

"Who cares what that old guy thinks?" Antonio said, stepping into our conversation. "Lovino, you shouldn't give a damn about what people think about you. It's all about what you think of yourself."

_'Dumb bastard. I only care about what you think about me.'_

"Yeah, fratello! Do you like yourself?" Feliciano cheerfully asked.

"You know, Roma hating me wasn't the only reason I left." I replied in a monotonous voice. "Now, let's get our stories straight while we walk down the Zattere. I still want to see the rest of it."

"Okay!" Feliciano and Antonio agreed in unison. Muttering something about how they were both annoyingly enthusiastic, I began walking down the street, gazing at the churches and their beautiful architectural design.

* * *

"Venice is beautiful." Antonio whispered loud enough for us to hear. Feliciano cocked his head to the side to face him, nodding and telling him about some time we went swimming when we were children.

"And then, when we got back on the street, Lovino tripped over his own slippery wet feet!" They laughed.

"Shut up, Feliciano!" I yelled. Noticing the Sun beginning to dip out of eyesight, I remembered Feliciano had come to Italy on a class trip. "Hey, Feli. Don't you have to go back to your class?"

My fratello's eyes widened with fear once I reminded him he was on a class trip. "Oh no! Ms. Brewster is going to hit me with her cane for being so late!" I could see tears forming in the corners of his eyes. "How do I get back to the hotel? Oh no, this is not good!"

"Calm down, Feli." Antonio ruffled Feliciano's hair. "We'll get you back to your class. What's the name of the hotel?"

"Um...I think it's the Carnival Palace Hotel."

"We can take a ferry there, Feliciano." I suggested as I walked towards a group of ferries waiting at the dock. I asked one of them to take us to the hotel Feliciano's class was staying at in my native language and motioned for Antonio and Feliciano to join me in the boat. As the boat embarked on the "journey" to the hotel as Feliciano put it, I heard a familliar voice begin to sing.

_Row, row, row your boat. Gently down the stream. Merrily, merrily, merrily, merrily; life is but a dream."_

My eyes widened as I identified the voice. It was the same one I heard in my dream! I whipped my head to face where Antonio was sitting, who simply smiled and waved at me. If it really was Antonio who was singing, that meant...

I had a dream about laying my head on Antonio's lap on a gondola as he sang a children's song.

I was a bit weirded about by the fact Antonio was singing a children's song, both in my dream and real life. I was also a bit disgusted with myself for having the urge to lay my head on Antonio's lap as soon as he started singing. But most of all, I was afraid that I was in love with that tomato bastard. Besides that dream, I almost told him I loved him before Feliciano interrupted me by calling my name.

But I didn't know what I was saying! It's as if my mind lost all sense of logic and spontaneously began to spew nonsense. However, that doesn't change the fact that it was none other than Antonio's eyes that I caught a glimpse of in my dream. Suddenly, the ferry stopped. I blinked my eyes a few times, just now realizing I'd spaced out for practically the entire ride.

Antonio paid the ferry driver as I led Feliciano off the boat. Luckily, the hotel his class was staring at was right by the shore. He waved goodbye at us as he began to stroll off towards the hotel. Just before he reached the door, he turned around and motioned for me to walk over to him. Reluctantly, I did so. He leaned towards my ear and whispered a few sentences to me.

"You like that Spanish boy, don't you? Don't worry, I'll help you work up the courage to confess to him. Meet me at the front of this hotel first thing tomorrow morning, okay, Fratello?"

Before I could even reply to him and try to mentally tell myself to stop blushing, Ms. Brewster walked into the lobby. Feliciano's eyes widened as she called his name. Even after he closed the heavy door behind him, I could hear the sound of his teacher yelling at him and whacking him with her cane. I could even hear his cries for mercy in response! Disturbed by the sounds coming from behind the door, I returned to where Antonio was standing.

"C'mon, Lovino. There's two benches over there we can sleep on." He pointed towards two benches sitting within 30 yards of the hotel. "I can finally get my own bench to sleep on!" He cheerfully added.

"You could be sleeping on a bed of spikes for all I care." I muttered as we began making our way to the benches.

"You're so cruel, Lovi~" Despite his words, Antonio was still smiling. "It's okay. You're cute when you're angry."

"Oh really?" My voice began to rise in volume as my grin grew wider. "I'm about to be fucking adorable!" I raised a fist playfully.

"You don't need to be angry to be adorable, though." Antonio responded immediately, gazing off in the distance.

I knew I wasn't going to be able to hide the blush that consumed my cheeks.

* * *

***A/N: And there's chapter 16! I have no ability to calculate distance, or any kind of numbers for that matter. So that's why I avoid mentioning distance in this fic. If you watch Jennamarbles, then you've probably seen that video where she talks about things she sucks at. I hated when my elementary school teachers had a jar of M&M's and we'd have to guess how many were in there. All my classmates had reasonable guesses except for me. I said 30. It was a huge ass jar. I CANNOT estimate numbers to save my life. Well, thanks for reading and please review!**


	17. Chapter 17: A Lesson About Love: Part 1

***A/N: Hello my lovely chainsaws! How was your week? Mine was terrible. Whatever! Writing for my lovely chainsaws always brightens up my day! Thanks for reading and please review!**

"So you came." Feliciano smiled a grin as bright as the sun.

"Yeah, I did."

"And that means you _do_ love that Spanish boy! Anyways, I'm going to help you get his attention! What's his name?" He asked in his normal, high-pitched voice.

"Antonio. Antonio Hernandez Carriedo, but he lets me call him Toni." I answered.

"Okay! So," Feliciano pointed to a street filled with shops and boutiques to his right. "We're going to go shop over there. We need to get you some new clothes, Lovino. Something that'll definitely catch his eye. Or if you don't have money, we can just leave you in the nude! That'll get his attention just fine!" He giggled.

"I have money. Like hell I'd let that tomato bastard see me naked." I muttered as we arrived at the first clothing store we saw on the street.

All the clothing stores on the street had such wishy-washy names. The one we happened to find first was named "Abbigliamento Meraviglioso," which translated into "wonderful clothing" in English. Despite it's name, the store's clothing was anything but wonderful. It was filled with dull colors; practically all the mens' clothes were gray, black, or white. The other customers in the store seemed to agree. "What the hell? It's _literally_ 50 shades of grey in here!" I heard a man say. His girlfriend who was wearing a shirt with the word "Twilight" running across it didn't take too kindly to that comment and forcefully punched his arm. Feliciano and I held back our snickers and exited the store.

"Ooh~ Look at that, Fratello!" Feliciano pointed to another shop across the street from the one we just left. "It's called 'Abiti Magnifici!' A store with that name must be, well, magnificent!"

Since the last store's name was practically a synonym to the this one's title, I definitely had my doubts about shopping there. However, my doubts were completely erased as soon as I stepped inside. Each garment was sorted into a specific section, dark and light shades of the same color were seperated from each other. It must've tooken _forever_ for the employees to categorize each piece of clothing. Signs hung above each section. Feliciano led me to the "Mens'; Medium; dark purple, blue, and light pink." He picked out a blue suit with a light pink tie and pushed it into my arms. He then ran over to the "green and light brown" section and grabbed a light green T-Shirt with the words "Ti amo" written on it in white.

"You need some new jeans, too." Feliciano mumbled and made a dash to the "Mens'; Medium; Jeans" section. In a matter of seconds he returned with a pair of dark blue jeans. Muttering something about me needing new shoes as well, he tripped over his own two feet in his attempt to make it to the shoes section.

"Woah! Calm down, fratello. It's not the end of the world if we don't finish shopping before lunch." I laughed as I helped him off the ground. He swept off any dust that might've made it's way onto his pants when he fell with the back of his hands and continued to make his way to the shoes section.

* * *

"Good morning, Lovi." I murmured to the bench beside me. Not hearing a response, I opened my eyes and glanced at it.

"Lovino?" My eyes widened as I realized I had no idea where my little tomato had dissapeared to. I didn't even think about packing up my sleeping bag or taking my backpack as I began to run around the perimeter of the hotel searching frantically for the Italian. I could feel tears welling up in the corners of my eyes. He could've been kidnapped by some stupid criminal while I was asleep! He must've been begging for my help, but I'm such a fucking deep sleeper that I couldn't hear him at all!

I sat back down on the bench, sobbing a million tears per second.

"Mi tomate...where are you?" I whispered as I desperately tried to wipe away the tears that where pouring from my eyes like a freaking waterfall.

I could imagine exactly what happened. A man with his hood pulled over his head slowly strolls over to Lovino's bench. Smiling at the absolute adorableness that was Lovino when he was sleeping(who wouldn't smile at such a cute sleeping boy?), he forcefully slams his hand against the Italian's mouth and drags him away. Lovino kicks his attacker and tries to remove their hand as soon as he awakens. Once he pries their hand off, he screams so loud and long it feels as if his lungs shriveled up from the lack of air.

But I'm too much of a dumb, snores-loud bastard who can't even protect the person who matters most to me.

* * *

"Okay, Lovino." Feliciano spoke as soon as he swallowed his first bite of spaghetti. After shopping, we had walked over to the restaurant across the street of 'Abiti Magnifici.' "I'm going to give you behavior lessons. This is step 2 of my plan of transforming you into a jaw-dropping, stunning, fine piece of Italian that Antonio will fight for."

"I don't need to be taught how to act!" I protested quite loudly.

"Exhibit A of why you haven't worked up the courage to confess to him yet." He slammed his hand on the table, drawing all the other customers' attention. "You're too damn stubborn! You know you like him; you've already admitted that. Why are you still acting like you hate him?"

"I don't fucking know! I just...do." I lamely explained my 'stubborn' actions. "It's like some part of me just won't let myself be in love. _Especially_ with tomato bastard."

"There you go again." Feliciano sighed. "I give up. Just try and act like you've been his friend for a long time." He paused. "Act like you did before the fire."

I tried to swallow the lump in my throat as I watched my brother take another bite of his pasta, as if he was trying to ease the tension he just created. We were both waiting for the other to speak another word, yet we wouldn't even pry open our lips a single centimeter. We hadn't spoke about the fire that had consumed our parents' lives ever since it actually happened. We tried at all costs to avoid any subject concerning fire.

"Please." Feliciano whispered. I could barely hear him, but I hung onto every word he said. "If you're not going to do it for Antonio, do it for me. I want the old Lovino back. The one that smiled and laughed, not the new one that keeps a poker face on all the time and lashes out at everyone who tries to compliment him."

Now incapable of forming a response to his truly sincere words, I did everything I could to look away from his gaze.

* * *

***A/N: And that's all for chapter 17! To the two guest reviews for the last chapter(Kittyruvsyou and Xaybx), thank you so much. You don't know how happy I was when I read those reviews. I love you all so much! As always, thanks for reading and please review, my lovely chainsaws!**


	18. Chapter 18: A Lesson About Love: Part 2

***A/N: Hello my lovely chainsaws! Today's my birthday, and I personally think the greatest gift is writing some good ol' fashioned A Not So Lonely Road for some lovely people! As always, thanks for reading and please review!**

"Hey!" I called to Antonio(omitting the 'bastard' to fufill Felicano's expectations of my behavior), who was sitting on the bench he'd been sleeping on with his head in his hands. "Why are you crying?"

Feliciano and I had finally finished lunch and began walking back towards the hotel. The first thing I saw was that tomato bastard sobbing his eyes out for the stupidest, reason-why-you-shouldn't-jump-to-conclusions speculation. He thought I'd been kidnapped! Seriously, I think I'd be strong enough(or at least have the sense to) fight against my attacker. That just proves how much of a coward Antonio must consider me to be!

But I only said that to hide the slight joy I felt. Perhaps Antonio might think of me as a "coward." But the fact he was weeping like a willow tree over my absence was a bit touching. At least that meant he cared about me.

"Whatever, Antonio." I avoided looking at him. He raised up his hand and wiped away the tears that were still falling from the corners of his eyes.

"I want some tomatoes." He randomly whispered. "Don't you?"

"Oh, I'd love some tomatoes!" Felicano, who I just realized was there, answered cheerfully. "But too bad, Luddy's probably just woken up. He wanted to go visit the Doge's Palace today." He discretely winked at me, silently telling me that this was my chance to make a move on Antonio. He strolled over to the hotel, entering it cautiously as if he didn't want to awaken anyone.

"Well, do you want to go buy some tomatoes?" Antonio stood up, straightening out his shirt and glancing hopefully at me. I only nodded in response as I led him down the street with all the stores Feliciano and I had just visited. Eventually, we reached a grocery store.

"Ciao! Benvenuti a generi alimentari alla nostra newsletter!" A male cashier that was currently scanning a can of chicken soup acknowleged us.

"Ciao." I mumbled and unenthusiastically waved at the man.

Antonio pulled on my shirt like a little kid, asking me for a translation. I explained that he simply said: "Hi! Welcome to Great Groceries!" Who the hell named these stores? They seem more like cheesy alliteration slogans rather than store names. I shook my head out of being annoyed by the titles of the shops on the street. Finally, we arrived at the vegetable aisle. The tomatoes practically took up the entire section! But I didn't expect anything less of my tomato-loving home.

"Hm...What kind of tomatoes should we get?" I asked as I glanced up towards Antonio, who was doing a bad job of translating the Italian signs.

"Roma tomatoes!" He answered as soon as he gave up on trying to say: 'Verdure.' "If you add a 'no' at the end, you know, because you're so stubborn; you get Romano!" He smiled.

"Okay." I guess I never told him my grandfather's name was Roma. Or maybe he forgot. No matter if Antonio knew my grandfather's name or not, that doesn't change the fact that I grabbed the Roma tomatoes and placed them in one of those small, plastics bag you get in the fruit and vegetables aisle. After a few minutes of scolding Antonio for picking bruised ones and replacing them with better ones, we headed off to cash register. In the middle of the store, Antonio paused and made me aware of the fact he had to use the restroom. Exaggerating my annoyance, I made a little 'hmph' noise in response and remained standing next to the stack of canned tomatoes.

"Hey!" A familliar, heavily German-accented voice yelled. "I know you! You're Antonio's boyfriend! You see, Mattie, I told you Antonio had a boyfriend." He spoke to the Canadian boy(who I hadn't noticed at first) beside him.

"Who are you?" I asked. Suddenly, I recognized the annoyingly loud, brash German boy from the time Antonio and I were hiding from the police at HetaMart. My eyes widened as I identified him. His name was on the tip of my tounge, but something was holding me back from saying it.

"Gilbert?" I heard Antonio(who'd just gotten out of the bathroom)'s voice confusedly call. "Is that you?"

* * *

"What the hell are you doing here?" Gilbert interrogated him. The boy next to him(who I realized was the kid who always sat in the corner of my Algebra class) kept tugging on his hand, telling him that he was drawing strangers' attentions. Obviously, Gilbert didn't care.

"I should be asking you that!" Antonio replied. They held an intense glare at each other for a few minutes. Matthew and I stood back, wondering if they were going to physically fight or just yell at each other. Then the unexpected happened.

"Oh, _kumpel_, I thought you went off and died!" Gilbert had tears forming in the corners of his eyes as they embraced in a friendly hug. All Antonio did to reply was laugh as they released each other from the tight hug.

"So that's your boyfriend, eh?" Gilbert asked, pointing to me. "Here's my awesomer boyfriend!" Matthew's face flushed as red as mine did when he mentioned me being Antonio's boyfriend.

"I'm not that tomato bastard's boyfriend." I muttered. Gilbert leaned close to my ear and whispered a short, yet meaningful, sentence.

"Well you should be."

* * *

After the little reuniting of best friends, Gilbert, Matthew, Antonio, and I were strolling down the street and back to their hotel. Apparently, they were in the same class as my idiot brother. It was simply a stroke of luck that I saw my brother after I thought I'd never see him again and Antonio met one of his best friends.

"So where's Francis?" Antonio asked.

"He went with my bruder and Feliciano to the Doge's Palace. He's been texting me about some Texan orange-haired guy he met who's 'sadly taken.' " Gilbert made air quotation marks with his hands.

"Was his name Ethan?" I interjected.

"Yeah. You know him?"

"He was our annoying tour guide when we went to the Doge's Palace, too." I laughed along with Antonio at the way fate had set this all up.

* * *

Finally, the day had practically ended. Gilbert and Matthew had retired to their rooms in the hotel, and Antonio and I were only a few steps away from our benches. As we began unpacking our bags, I remembered the little wink Feliciano had given me, along with all the advice he'd given me as well. Gilbert's whisper about how I should be Antonio's boyfriend flittered through my mind as well. I glanced over at Antonio, who was already in his bag and almost asleep. It was now or never.

"Will you go out with me?"

"Si." Antonio whispered as he turned to face away from me.

* * *

_'I've been waiting for you to say that since the day we met.' _Antonio and Lovino simultaneously thought as they fell asleep to the steady sound of the other breathing.

* * *

***A/N: *Ahem* Happy birthday to me! Happy birthday to me! I'm a dinosaur with a chainsaw; Happy birthday to me! Thanks for all the birthday wishes, my lovely chainsaws! I love you guys! As always, thanks for reading and please review!**


	19. Chapter 19: First Date

"Fratello! Fratello!" Feliciano's voice rang in my ear as he shook me awake from my slumber on the bench.

"What the hell do you want? It's still dark out!" I whispered in a harsh tone, not wanting to awaken Antonio. Not that the bastard was a light sleeper.

"Wear these clothes to your date with Antonio!" He shoved the bag of clothes we'd bought yesterday. "It's that shirt with the 'Ti amo' written across it. Come get ready in my room's bathroom." He motioned for me to follow him into the hotel.

Feliciano slowly opened and closed the door, making sure it didn't slam shut. We began to walk slowly towards the elevator; Feliciano had told me that Ms. Brewster would hide by the door and attack any student who came back after curfew with her cane. So, because the safety of our Italian asses were in danger, we tried desperately to make not a single sound. My brother pressed the elevator's button, patiently waiting for the doors to open. After a very long while, I was intensely aggravated by the machine's sluggishness and pounded my fist against the button as if that would speed up the process of the elevator arriving on our level.

"Lovino, your fist banging against the wall! It's really loud!" Feliciano shrieked.

"Well, you're the one screaming about it!" I yelled hypocritically.

"See, this is why Antonio didn't ask you out himself! Because you're so stubborn all the time, Fratello! Maybe if you were nicer-" Feliciano scolded me. Of course, I was having none of that. It was early in the morning, and I've never been much of a morning person.

"Maybe if you would man up, maybe you'd have kissed that damn potato bastard already!" I spat venomously. Feliciano had always complained about how he wanted to kiss his boyfriend Ludwig, but either the German would avoid it or Feliciano would be too scared to do the simple action. The latter was usually the cause of his dilemma.

"At least I have a boyfriend. You haven't even gone on your date with Antonio yet! Besides, you wouldn't be able to kiss him either. Know why? 'Cause you're so stubborn, Fratello!" He yelled.

"You're late." A woman with short, brown hair with blonde highlights scattered throughout its strands appeared from practically nowhere. Her voice carried a distinct Country accent. Her glasses rested on her nose bridge, its lenses so clean the light from the lamp post outside the hotel bounced off of it and glared in our eyes. And the only thing that made her identifiable to myself was her signature cane Feliciano had talked about.

"M-Ms. Brewster!" Feliciano had tears forming in the corner of his eyes.

"You know, when kids try to sneak out and back into the hotel, they don't usually yell at their twin brother so that it makes it completely obvious where they are." She motioned to me. "But you haven't wronged me, Feliciano. You know, besides asking stupid questions and giving out equally dumb answers in class. 'Okay class, which state has the biggest population in America?' And you said 'Russia.' Perhaps once we get back we'll learn about the Kremlin." She stomped her cane on the tile floor.

Feliciano was silent. After all, there really wasn't anything to say.

"But I digress. Like I was saying, you haven't done anything wrong in my class before. So I'm going to give you ten minutes to scurry up those stairs, that elevator is obviously not coming to this floor anytime soon, fulfill your purpose for bringing your brother here, and he better be out of here before those ten minutes are up or I'm going to beat your Italian ass." She smiled a playful grin.

"Yes ma'am!" Feliciano screamed and pulled me by the arm to get me upstairs.

* * *

"You have less than a minute! Get out of here!" Feliciano pushed me towards the door. He had quickly stripped off my clothes and replaced them with the ones he bought for me(despite my protests that I could dress myself) and abruptly tried to rush me out of the door.

"Excuse me?" I yelled. I wasn't ordered around by anyone, let alone Feliciano.

"I mean, see you later, Fratello! I love you!" He slurred his words together and pushed me out of his room, slamming the door shut.

"Stupid Feliciano." I muttered as I retied my shoelaces that had become undone while Feliciano clothed me. I would've taken all the time in the world to yell at Feliciano through the door for even _thinking_ of pushing me if I hadn't heard Ms. Brewster's cane clacking against the tile floor all the way downstairs in the lobby. Fearing for my life, I rushed downstairs and left the hotel as quick as my legs could carry me. I could hear Ms. Brewster cackling as I passed her by in the hallway.

When I arrived outside, Antonio was awake and happily munching on a tomato. I couldn't help but notice the juice that had landed on his cheek while he was snacking. Without even bothering to say hello like he had done, I walked over to him and used my right thumb to wipe away the red juice.

"Che palle! You eat like a little kid." I exclaimed. "Or like my brother." I smiled.

"Hm." Was all Antonio said in response as he stood up and gathered our things. He began to walk away before I pulled him back by the arm.

"Where are you going?" I asked him.

"I thought you said we were going on a date." He answered confusedly.

"Oh yeah. Follow me, then." I led Antonio towards the ferries that brought us to the hotel Feliciano was staying at.

* * *

"The water in Italy is just beautiful." Antonio whispered dreamily.

All I did in response was stare back up at him. Why couldn't he see his own beauty? How his smile shines so brightly while his tan skin brushes against mine? Was it possible not to notice how I melted into his emerald eyes when I glanced at them for but a second? I just wanted to wrap my arms around him and tell him that the water in Italy was nothing compared to how gorgeous he is. And because I'm so stubborn, I wouldn't dare risk my pride by doing that.

But in that moment, with the sun rising and shining on his beautiful self, I thought: 'Fuck my pride.'

And I _did_ wrap my arms around Antonio and tell him that the water in Italy was nothing compared to how gorgeous he is.

* * *

"This is the Museo Correr." I told Antonio as I pointed towards the large museum. "I visited it a lot when I was growing up."

The sun had fully risen, and I was still a bit shaken from the hug I gave Antonio earlier on the ferry ride. I ignored the blush that reached my face each time I thought about it and continued to tell Antonio about the building as we walked inside.

"This is the first floor of the museum. It illustrates the culture of Venice over time." I felt like the ginger-haired tour guide as I led Antonio into room 6 and continued to tell him about the museum. "This room displays the time period in which the Doge's power was at its peak, along with room 7. It also shows the decline of the Doge during the last years of the republic."

We walked in out of each of the rooms as I explained what each room illustrated. The art in each room was just as magnificent as I remembered them to be. Whenever I listed the artists names, Antonio felt the need to say that many of their names were 'Giovanni' and that 'da' must've been a common middle name then, even though that wasn't their middle names.

* * *

"And that was the Museo Correr." I ended the little 'tour' with those words, noticing that I must've spoke for a long time since it was already dark out.

"The art was wonderful!" Antonio exclaimed. "Everything was so pretty!"

"You're starting to sound like my brother." I laughed as I elbowed his arm. Antonio chuckled as well, smiling his signature grin as we walked away from the museum and back to the ferries. I paid the man driving the ferry and helped Antonio climb into the boat. I didn't understand why the both of us were still laughing like we were continuously telling hilarious jokes, but I had a feeling it was because of the butterflies in our stomach.

After all, we were so close the entire time we were on our 'date.' Holding hands throughout the museum, sitting so close on the ferry. I leaned my head on Antonio's shoulder as we watched the water splash up against the ferry, the moonlight shining on the majestic blue lagoon. The butterflies were still fluttering about my stomach, but I was no longer awkwardly giggling. Something about the proximity between Antonio and I made me feel...well, crazy. I glanced up at Antonio, taking in the view of his face when it was occupied with staring at the water.

I swallowed my pride once again as I dared to say words I thought I'd never say to another human being.

"Bésame." I whispered. Antonio's eyes widened as they darted from the water to me. "Besame mucho!" I yelled, not knowing why I raised my voice.

"Si." He whispered as he leaned toward me.

I closed my eyes as his lips captured my own. I felt sparks fly in the air as the kiss occurred. The feeling of _kissing_ someone, let alone Antonio, was a feeling I'd never experienced. I always imagined it'd be gross to have your mouth against someone else's mouth. But, I was wrong. _So_ wrong. Antonio, the most beautiful thing I've ever laid my eyes on, was kissing _me_.

The man that probably saved my life by providing me shelter, food, and water when I ran away was now giving me something that I needed all my life.

Love.

* * *

***A/N: What do you think? But nope, it's not over yet! It's not over until BRUNO MARS sings! That's a hint for the next chapter. The next chapter will be the last. So please stay tuned, my lovely chainsaws! As always, thanks for reading and please review!**


	20. Chapter 20: Epilogue

_Years had passed since Lovino and Antonio experienced their first date with each other. 10 years to be exact. As Lovino had reached the young yet mature age of 25 on March 17th and Antonio had already turned 26 earlier that year(on the 12th of February), the Spaniard came to a conclusion. He'd been debating himself over the important subject for months upon months, and he finally reached a decision. And the story of how he carried out his decision came about begins here._

* * *

Antonio sluggishly rose from the bed he and Lovino shared, lazily wiping his eyes as he glanced at the alarm clock on their bedside table. It read 5:30. He had mixed emotions about waking up at such an early time, but he needed all the time he could get. He'd broken the habit of being such a loud and deep sleeper, which greatly impressed his Italian boyfriend. Said Italian was still curled up into a little ball, hugging Antonio's arm. Just to see the adorableness of Lovino when he was sleeping, Antonio had broken said habit. As much as he wanted to lay in that bed next to Lovino until the Italian woke up, Antonio knew he couldn't.

With a grimace showing prominently on his face, he slowly removed his arm from Lovino's grasped and wedged a pillow between his arms. Luckily, Lovino didn't wake up from the obvious change. Slowly, Antonio got up from the bed and grabbed some clothes he'd already picked out the day before. In a matter of minutes, his toothbrush was dangling from his mouth that was filled to the brim with minty foam as he pulled on his pants. Quickly spitting out the foam and rinsing his mouth, he carried on with his plan. He snatched up his car keys that were previously sitting on their living room couch and walked out the door, desperately trying to tie his shoes as he hopped down the apartment's hallway.

As soon as he was out of the lobby, he found his parked car and quickly jumped inside. He grabbed his phone that happened to be in the passenger's seat and made a call to some of his friends. His conversations were mostly the same.

"You got everything ready?" He would ask.

"Yup. Just meet me at the parking lot." They would confirm.

Antonio smiled as he began driving to said parking lot.

* * *

"What the hell?" Lovino muttered as his eyes fluttered open. The first thing he noticed was that in his arms, where Antonio's arm should've been, a pillow rested. "Where is that bastard?"

The Italian flung the blankets away from him, almost storming out of the room. He checked the living room, the bathroom, the kitchen, and as silly as it may sound, the closet and the pantry. As if the Spaniard would just happen to be hidden in _there_, of all places. But Lovino was too confused and scared(although he wouldn't admit it) to think clearly. Without hesitation, he grabbed his cellphone sitting on the kitchen table and dialed the number 1. Yes, Antonio was on speed dial.

The phone rang only twice before the Spaniard answered.

"Hello?" He cheerfully answered.

"Where the hell are you? I'm so fucking worried!" Lovino blurted out.

"I'm in front of the Doge's Palace. I was just about to call you to tell you to come here."

"Why should I-"

"Please." Antonio's plea interrupted Lovino's shout. The Italian couldn't help but pity the desperate tone his boyfriend had used.

"Fine." Lovino muttered as he walked over to the bedroom closet and grabbed some clothes to wear.

* * *

"Is he on his way?" Elizabeta and Bella asked at the same time.

"He's getting ready." Antonio answered.

"I have the camera ready!" Kiku's heavily Japanese-accented voice shouted. The Spaniard turned around, only to be greeted by the sight of the Japanese man panting with a camera tightly held in his hand. "I...Have the camera."

"Thanks! You didn't have to run, though." Antonio smiled apologetically.

"I thought I'd...be late." Kiku said between sharp intakes of the rare-but-cold air of Venice.

Antonio was one lucky bastard. His friends were faithful, trustworthy, and would do anything to help him. With only Willem who had hesitated to take a plane ride all the way from America to Venice(Bella had convinced him to go after weeks of begging), his whole circle of friends had arrived in Venice. Gilbert was currently driving Lovino over to the almost-abandoned Doge's palace. Antonio smiled as he straightened out the tuxedo he was wearing, heading into the palace. Kiku began to hurriedly set up his camera as his younger sister Mei patiently waited for the car to park.

"What the hell are you putting me in the trunk for?" Lovino asked as Gilbert suddenly grabbed him and forced him to sit on the truck's now-open trunk.

"I think this song perfectly fits you and Antonio." The German smiled, ignoring Lovino's question as he played track number 6 on a Doo-Wops and Hooligans Bruno Mars CD.

The slow yet upbeat instrumental of the song "Marry You" filled the air. Lovino's eyes widened as he recognized the tune. He glanced to his left, only to be greeted with the sight of Mei making her way to him, slowly dancing with the beat of the song. She grins as she points to Gilbert now sitting to Lovino's right, playing a tambourine. Suddenly, Willem and Bella make their way into his view and begin singing.

_"It's a beautiful night! We're looking for something dumb to do. Hey baby!"_ The two point at Lovino. _"I think I want to marry you. Is it that look in your eyes? Or is it this dancing juice?"_

As soon as the words 'dancing juice' came out of the duo's mouths, Francis appeared in nothing but a rose somehow sticking to his groin area. Lovino groaned at the horrifying sight and tried to ignore the Frenchman swaying his hips.

_"Who cares, baby? I think I want to marry you!"_ As soon as the little duet was sung, Lovino's brother, Feliciano, and his boyfriend Ludwig appeared and began singing along to the song. A large smile was prominent on Feliciano's face, as opposed to Ludwig's slightly hidden one.

_"Well, I know this little chapel on the boulevard we can go~ No one will know~ Oh, come on, boy!"_ Abruptly after those few lines, Francis and Gilbert reappeared with pans in their hands. They used the metal pans to playfully hit each other as they sang the next couple lines.

_"Who cares if we're trashed? Got a pocket full of cash we can blow~ Shots of patron~ And it's on, boy!"_Both were left with extremely bad headaches as they dropped their pans to the ground. Everyone joined hands, swaying to each side as they sang the next part of the jubilant song.

_"Don't say no, no, no, no, no! Just say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! And we'll go, go, go, go, go! If you're ready! Like I'm ready!"_ Lovino couldn't resist smiling as they continued to sing.

_"'Cause it's a beautiful night! We're looking for something dumb to do! Hey baby!"_ The group paused to point their index fingers at the Italian sitting on the trunk of Gilbert's truck. _"I think I want to marry you! Is it that look in your eyes? Or is it this dancing juice? Who cares, baby? I think I want to marry you!"_

Roderich and Elizaveta came from practically thin air with their hands clasped together as they sang the next verse together. _"I'll go get a ring, let the choir bells sing like Ooh~ So what you wanna do? Let's just run, boy!"_ As they took a breath, the couple happily pointed to Alfred and Arthur who currently had just exited the Doge's Palace.

_"If we wake up and you want to break up, that's cool~"_ Alfred sang, although he obviously didn't want to break up with his English boyfriend. _"No, I won't blame you~"_

_"It was fun, bo-"_ Arthur's singing was cut off by Alfred placing a quick kiss on his lips. The Englishman was surprised at the abrupt action, but kissed back nonetheless. Once again, everyone(including the people who had suddenly appeared to sing a duet with their significant other) joined hands and swayed to the beat of the song.

_"Don't say no, no, no, no, no! Just say yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah! And we'll go, go, go, go, go! If you're ready! Like I'm ready!"_ Briefly after those 4 lines, Ivan, Natalia, and Katyusha appeared chiming in with those already singing.

_"'Cause it's a beautiful night! We're looking for something dumb to do! Hey, baby! I think I want to marry you! Is it that look in your eyes? Or is it this dancing juice? Who cares, baby? I think I want to marry you. Just say I do~"_

As the group began singing Ooh's, Lovino laid his eyes on Antonio, who was currently laughing and conversing with Francis and Gilbert. Emerald met brown just before Lovino glanced away. The Spaniard smiled. The Italian was just adorable. Out of nowhere, the music stopped and the group of people who were previously singing stepped away from the truck. Lovino glanced around, wondering why the music had stopped all of a sudden. He no longer needed an explanation as Antonio walked over to him.

The Italian felt tears well up in the corner of his eyes as he smiled at the Spaniard now in front of him. He gets off of the trunk, now standing properly. Antonio notices how much Lovino had grown in the past 10 years. It felt like only yesterday he was up to the middle of Antonio's neck. The Italian's growth reminded Antonio of how their relationship had grown as well. And never in his life had the Spaniard been so sure of doing something. He kneeled down on one knee and pulled a small, velvet box out of his back pocket. He clears his throat as he locks eyes with Lovino.

_"'Cause it's a beautiful night. This is nowhere near dumb to do. Hey Toma, tú me dejas sin aliento."_ He sang along in time with the music. His grin widened as he began to speak. "Lovino Vargas. Will you marry me?"

Lovino brought his hand up to his eyes to wipe away a few tears that had fallen. "Three meals and a nap." He whispered.

"That's not a no." Antonio replied.

"Of course not, you idiot." Lovino smiled as he pressed his lips against Antonio.

Kiku smiled and began to film all the people who had helped with Antonio's proposal. He introduced and showed each person in the video, and quickly shut the camera off afterwards. He felt no need to film Lovino and Antonio's actions afterwards.

He, along with everyone else, knew that the two would remember that moment for the rest of their lives.

* * *

Life seems to be a lonely road. Just ask Lovino. He watched his parents die in a fire. His now-husband was abused by his father and his mother was a drug-addict. No one lives a perfect life. Everyone has secrets they keep hidden in the darkest corner of their minds. The mistake many people make is thinking they're not worthy of living _because_ their life isn't perfect. No one is perfect. We all make mistakes. But don't make the mistake of thinking you're not beautiful.

Because Lovino and Antonio can promise you, there's someone out there who's destined to love you forever. And that person thinks you're beautiful in every single way, shape, and form. And you know what life will be like once you meet them?

A not so lonely road.

* * *

***A/N: Read the Author's Note in the next chapter. It's important. The proposal was inspired by a video on YouTube titled: Marry you parody - A Spamano Comic Strip AMV. It's an awesome AMV, so please go watch it. **


	21. Chapter 21: Author's Note

Because I love you guys all so much, I decided to give out awards! To the following people, you'll recieve a drabble for a pairing of your choice written by me! But remember, YOU have to PM me first. Here we go!

Best username:** Don't Touch My Curl**

Reviewed consistently(for the longest time): **HimekoUchia**

First followers(followed on the first day the story was published): **Oz the Magician, Skye1412, ThE-fAiNtInG-fAnGiRl, Musical Nerd 29, LovinoIsAwesome, Alice Vargas**

First favorites(followed on the first day the story was published): **HikariKegawaAshi, Musical Nerd 29, Quinn Fiberoptic, ThE-fAiNtInG-fAnGiRl**

First reviewer: **Musical Nerd 29**

Best birthday message(this one was a really hard one to pick, because I loved them all!): **ChioCan'tCook**

Followed me on tumblr(as far as I know, they had the same URL as their username on here): **RandomWriter57**

Won the most "awards": **Musical Nerd 29**

So, if you won an award, PM me and give me a theme and a pairing for your drabble. If you won more than one award, you get more than one drabble! Obviously, the number of drabbles I'll write for you is based on the number of awards you won. However, **HimekoUchia** is an exception to this rule and wins 2 awards. Because they reviewed with quanity and quality.

Even if you didn't win an award, I love you with all my heart. Yes, the people who never reviewed. I know your there; I've read some of your own fanfiction. They're wonderful, by the way. Even if I know nothing about you guys besides the fact you read this story, I love you and consider you to be my closest friends. If it weren't for the success of this story, I'd be in serious depression right now. I was questioning myself before I made this story; 'What's my talent? What makes me unique? Am I just good for nothing?' And you guys showed me writing was my talent.

_**As a "gift," I decided to make a chaptered sequel to A Not So Lonely Road called: "A Not So Normal Marriage." It'll be published on Christmas day.**_ And if any of you are wondering, it's not called "A Not So Normal Marriage" because it's gay marriage. It's titled that way because Antonio and Lovino's personalites are extremely different. I believe marriage is a human right and that love is love no matter what. But you probably already knew that because this was a Shonen-ai story.

Also, I completely understand that not everyone celebrates Christmas. So I'd like to say Happy Hanukah and Happy Kwanza in advance.

Anyways, I love you, my lovely chainsaws! I can't thank you enough for taking time out of your day to read this story when you could be listening to music and reading much better fanfiction. If any of you ever want to chat or recieve advice, etc., please PM me or contact me on tumblr. I'm a lonely person who adores hearing from lovely, beautiful and handsome people such as yourselves.

HOLD ON! I also have an extra for this story on tumblr. Just go to my tumblr(the link is in some of my earlier chapters) and click on "My Tumblr-Only Fanfiction" and click on A Not So Lonely Road EXTRA #1. I'll be putting more extras up later.

Seriously, I love you guys so much!

~Dinochainsaw


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